GREEN SHADOW

I had mentioned in my lukewarm review of the 2017 THOBY LOTH album that perhaps its main man TOBIAS TAG was preoccupied with his solo and TEMPLE OF THE STARS projects, hence the palpable lack of enthusiasm in "Skymningsdalen". Apparently that was a rare prescient moment because the change of direction on this solo EP makes even the wonderful "Cauldron of Life" seem a tad timid.

While on the surface "Green Shadow" plays like THOBY LOTH with vocals, the lack of flutes and the wall of crunching heavy guitars and atmospheric keyboard touches keep me from missing the flutes and whistles of his prior band. And speaking of vocals, this guy's voice is absolutely right for what he is trying to do, or perhaps I should say that this EP delivers in large part because of the interaction of his voice and the arrangements. It was always about atmosphere when THOBY LOTH was at their best, and, while that ambience has shifted into an almost metallic folk, it's as critical as ever,

While the opening track is perfection itself, beginning almost as a folk number and rapidly ratcheting up, the title cut and "Desert Palace" are nearly as accomplished, and the similar tempos and angst unfold like an epic in the Swedish speaking part of the Finnish woods that have me running to adjust my internal thermostat. I've searched hard for comparisons and, while this style is hardly unique, I can't find any meaningful similarities, though some of MIREK GIL's solo and group works come to mind, mostly because of the pained vocals.

I don't think I've ever rated an EP 5 stars but I think in this case "Green Shadow's" brevity is just another of its strengths, allowing it to overshadow TAG's still memorable prior works.