THE ETERNAL RESONANCE

"The Eternal Resonance" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish progressive death/black metal act Sweven. The album was released through Ván Records in March 2020. Sweven was formed in early 2020 by former Morbus Chron lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Andersson. Morbus Chron split-up in 2015 after releasing an EP and two full-length studio albums. The last studio album was titled "Sweven (2014)", which is obviously where Andersson picked the name for his new project. Before forming Sweven, Andersson and his former Morbus Chron bandmate Edvin Aftonfalk both performed live with Entombed, and Andersson even appears as a guest vocalist on the legendary Swedes "Clandestine" live album from 2017.

Playing with Entombed hasn´t rubbed much off on Andersson though and the music style on Sweven is more a continuation of the progressive death/black metal sound of the "Sweven (2014)" album by Morbus Chron. The death metal elements have been scaled back though and the progressive elements and atmosphere are more in focus but Andersson´s vocals are still snarling/growling, so because of the vocal style this is still death/black metal in some respect, but not much else on the album point in that direction. While the material on "The Eternal Resonance" are generally much more progressive and challenging, an act like fellow countrymen Tribulation have some similar features in their music.

"The Eternal Resonance" is an intriguing release and it´s an album deserving more than one spin, before forming an opinion about it. There is a lot to absorb but it´s not complex like some of the more inaccessible progressive releases can sometimes be. It´s a dark and atmospheric release, and it´s generally very dynamic with both mellow sections and more heavy and death/black metal influenced sections. The album is packed in a dark and organic sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. The hour long album is an adventurous journey through abstract landscapes and gloomy lights, and it´s actually a bit hard to describe exactly how it sounds. My best try would be a dynamic, dark, and atmospheric type of metal with snarling/shouting death/blackened vocals presented in progressive song structures. Labelling/describing the music aside, it´s a high quality release with a unique sound and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)