IN SOLITUDE - Sister
October 24, 2013, 11 years ago
(Metal Blade)
Sweden's IN SOLITUDE burned with satanic fire on 2011's The World The Flesh The Devil, and that record's NWOBHM roots (bloody roots) anchored a sound that was inspired, incendiary and, it seems, unsustainable, as latest LP Sister attests. Sister is the definition of a night record: it's angular and doesn't reveal its strongest stances immediately, instead letting its hazy, subversive atmosphere take full effect. Which is not to say In Solitude has gone, like, all SUNN O))) on us; no, instead, In Solitude revels in moods and fully immerses itself in ghost-like propositions that are here one moment and gone the next, leaving feelings of only vague satisfaction in the listener. One can hear how Sister might eventually be considered a renowned record of greatness based precisely on the fact that it is restrained and digs in the dirt, and my sense is that once this album gets under your skin, it's very difficult to let go of, in any manner, as 'Pallid Hands' and its ANGEL WITCH vs. THE CHURCH incongruence argues convincingly. And, man, that's some wholly effective cover art.
