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Still another band hailing from Sweden, the great land of melodic metal, Darkane is one of the most technically-driven melodeath bands to ever rock the earth. Although the rest of the band is awesome, I think I'll start raving about Darkane with their most powerful member: drummer Peter Wildoer.

This man is, quite simply, INSANE. His diverse, highly technical drumming (which is the main framework upon which this music is driven) is jaw-droppingly more than just effective. For me, his drumming is the absolute pinnacle of Darkane's brutal sound. Many people say that his drumming is complex. Complex? That's an INSULT to how precisely intricate his beats and rhythms further destroy a listener's ear drums. He'll be keeping one time on, say, his cymbals, while his feet pound out a double-bass rhythm that is patterned in strange time, and meanwhile the snare blasts away at yet another beat; however, THIS IS ALL DONE PERFECTLY WITHIN A STEADY RHYTHM. This might sound like a fairly standard formula used by drummers everywhere, but one listen to his absolute culmination of drumming talent on this album (the bridge to the awesome "Imaginary Entity"), and you will know the true power of technical percussion.

Now, for the rest of the band:

Andreas Sydow is a unique vocalist. His signature voice is a throaty roar that is somewhat robotic, but it adds to Darkane's technical sound. It's got a bit of range in itself, this voice, but maintains a very distinct rasp. However, Sydow often erupts into a terrific death metal growl, which also has that robotic tone, but with a deeper, more fierce edge. His most diverse performance is on "Solitary Confinement," which switches between death-metal vocals during the verses, and strikingly emotional cries during the choruses. Wildoer often acts as a backing vocalist, so there are multiple voices that add to the madness and mental decay of the lyrics (which were written largely by Wildoer, but also by the guitarists).

Jörgen Löfberg adds a good bass rhythm, and while there are few moments where it particularly stands out, it is easy to realize that he uses fairly complex chords in the ever-changing riffs of each song.

Finally, Klaus Ideberg and Christofer Malmström are a tight guitar duo. They have deep, shredding riffs that would whet any metal fan's appetite, and an excellent sense of melody, which is the other great thing about Darkane. Great solos, too - again, very melodic, and well-timed and -placed. Malmström's leads are especially noteworthy; they carry great amounts of notes and hooks, and can be very catchy (just listen to his solo on "Imaginary Entity"). My one and only problem with Mamstrom and Ideberg is that neither of them performed the acoustic classical guitar in the outro to "Violence From Within," but instead some hired person did it. True, they probably could play it on their own, but I feel like this was a sign of copping out for whatever reason.

All the songs are bone-crushingly heavy and very distinct. Just listen to the pre-choruses of "Violence From Within," with those evil-sounding riffs as Sydow roars, "Catatonic state of mind/ SevERE mania/ Emotionally devastating illness." Very cool. There is also some usage of keyboards and programming throughout the album, like on the intros and outros to "Imaginary Entity" and "Submissive." The keyboards mainly serve as an extra textural device in the flurry of guitar riffs and thunderous drums to further emphasize the melody. There's also a full choir (or at least 13 people total, as well as the members of Darkane themselves) used in the background to many of the songs, again to aid the melodies.

Let me just add as a side note that one song, "Imaginary Entity," is one of the most addictive I have listened to in a long time. I often will listen to it repeatedly, just for the sake of listening to that bridge. After a fast-paced series of verses and choruses (at ever-changing in timing), there is a heavy BOOM of riff and beat that gears up a change in the timing, and then starts one of the most insane drum beats I've ever heard as Wildoer pounds out on the skins. I'm not yet familiar with the musical formulae of beats and time, but I know a complex rhythm when I hear one, and this is it (and more). This awesome rhythm cycles three times before Malmström's guitar solo SLICES in with such precision, and with such a perfectly shredding series of notes, I am just left in awe. Oh yeah, the song is great in other ways, and Ideberg's solo is impressive, but after hearing Wildoer's rhythm and Malmström's lead, it's hard to really give anything else in the song much attention. This song, singlehandedly, may be one of the top 10 best songs I've ever heard, just because of that bridge.

I must say that this CD blew me away. It was my first Darkane CD, so I can't judge if this was the best or the worst.