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| Buy this album |
Dan Swanö just happens to the musician I respect most in this world. Yes, I'm a blatant Swanö fanboy, it's true, so I suppose a review of his brilliant solo effort Moontower, written by your's truly, is going to be rife with bias. Well, it is. Fanboy or no, this album is an amazing achievement from a metal-god who just never seems to run out of ideas or ways of expressing himself. Every instrument here is played by Swanö himself, keyboards (the key instrument here), guitar, bass, drums, growls, clean-vocals, piano, mini-moog, and the style is 70s-tinged death metal. Swanö's love of prog and the 70s manifests itself throughout the album, which has a real lush atmosphere to it. Imagine Camel or Pink Floyd if they played death metal, and you've got this album. "Sun Of The Night" is a killer of an opening, with some fantastic keyboard melodies and growls, fine riffage, and an awesome midsection in which an acoustic riff leads to a ghostly keyboard melody and an excellently executed guitar solo. "Patchworks" is less intense, with some organ and moog-work backing up the verses perfectly, the chorus driven by keyboards. "Uncreation" has a real 80s sound to it, but not in an extremely cheesy way. The keyboard heavy song has some fine solos and an enjoyable 70s/80s vibe throughout. "Add Reality" is an enjoyable song which was not a standout, but has some solid melodies and a nice piano midsection. "Creating Illusions" is probably the most metal song on the album, with some intense riffs and lyrics that rail against mainstream culture and greed. "The Big Sleep" has incredibly touching lyrics and concerns death, life, reality and love in an introspective and emotional way, expressing thoughts we all come to every now and then 'I refuse to let these angels take me away, the big sleep is the only thing that's for sure', 'I'm so afraid that I won't have the chance to tell the ones I love how I really feel inside', 'I say the only one I want to be is me'. One of the main reasons this album is so brilliant is the lyrics. This really is Dan the man pouring out his soul, thoughts, ideas, views, all onto one awesome musical statement. You can tell that the lyrics and themes are thought-out in the manner they are expressed, without pretention or cheese. He shows off just how much of a master he is on "Encounterparts", an exceptionally performed and composed instrumental, and the concluding song "In Empty Phrases" wraps it all up nicely, being the "Wish You Were Here", or "Lady Fantasy" of the album, with expressive, mournful lyrics and a staggering keyboard/guitar midsection. This is an extremely polished product from one of metals greatest musicians, and it's awe-inspiring to think that one man can create such music by himself, one man on many instruments. That's just Dan Swanö for you. He is one blessed with the ability to do whatever he wants and still deliver the musical goods. Totally recommended. Fanboy, signing off.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Sun Of The Night |
| 2. Patchworks |
| 3. Uncreation |
| 4. Add Reality |
| 5. Creating Illusions |
| 6. The Big Sleep |
| 7. Encounterpoints |
| 8. In Empty Phrases |
: 43.40
| Buy other Dan Swanö albums |
