In Solitude - The World, The Flesh, The Devil

In Solitude
The World, The Flesh, The Devil
2011 Metal Blade Records
As the years go on, it seems that more and more bands are becoming content with merely imitating their influences, rather than letting those influences actually do what they're supposed to do. Which, of course is to play a part in the direction of a band's sound, and not be the sound itself. If you really need an example, just throw a rock at a gathering of black metal bands formed ten years ago or less. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll hit one that sounds like a pale imitation of one of the bigger bands in the scene. So what's that got to do with In Solitude? Simple. While a good portion of their sound is based off of the 80s releases of Mercyful Fate, they don't sound exactly like Fate. Singer Pelle Åhman's (aka "Hornper") voice may have a bit of a resemblance at times to King Diamond's mid-range, but he's not hitting the impossible highs, or the almost gutteral lows. No falsetto to be found here. As for the lyrics, if anyone was afraid they' tone down the satanism because of signing to a major label (major, that is, by the standards of the metal underground), let me allay your fears with this simple statement; those elements are still very much present, but in a more esoteric form. Subtlety is the key. All in all, these guys are fairly young, and if the two albums they've done so far are any indication, we can expect big things from them in the future.