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There are few Swedish metal musicians who have been belauded to such extent as Dan Swanö. He began his musical journey in a punk-ish environment but while the simplicity of punk music served well while learning instruments the interest for more advanced and progressive sounds was always there. The founding fathers of the 70s - Rush, Yes, Marillion, Genesis - were important influences that would aid him in his quest for the perfect bridge between progressive rock and modern death metal. Edge Of Sanity was the result and while the first two albums "Nothing But Death Remains" and "Unorthodox" definitely were solid releases a new chapter began with "The Spectral Sorrows" in 1993. The production of this album beats the crap out of most releases from that time and it helps in creating a massive attack of relentless death metal. Only the introductory riff of the title track is reason enough to admire the intensity of this album. Swanö's growling vocals add another dimension to the music and he has hardly ever sounded as good as he does on this album. Just listen to his performance on "Lost", one of the stronger tracks of "The Spectral Sorrows", and behold and enjoy the beauty.
The fusion of wonderful melodies and aggression has always been one of the trademarks for Swedish extreme metal and Edge Of Sanity is one of the finer examples. Together with bands like Katatonia, Marduk, Entombed, Dissection, Tiamat, At The Gates and Opeth they laid the foundation for the success of Swedish metal in the early to mid 90s. Dan Swanö has always wanted to work new ways and experiment, often with a successful result but sometimes not. On this album he experiments mostly with his studio equipment but at least one more thing should be mentioned and that is the track "Sacrificed". Just like Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth and Johan Edlund of Tiamat he began to incorporate clean vocals in death metal and a prime example is found here where he uses more of a dark, gothic voice. In fact, "Sacrificed" sounds very much Sisters Of Mercy and is the least metallic song of the album. All in all, "The Spectral Sorrows" is an essential album for the death metal fan and it is one of the heaviest albums the genre has to offer. A must-have despite the ugly looking cover by Dan Seagrave.
| Tracklist |
| 1. The Spectral Sorrows |
| 2. Darkday |
| 3. Livin' Hell |
| 4. Lost |
| 5. Masque |
| 6. Blood Of My Enemies |
| 7. Jesus Cries |
| 8. Across The Fields Of Forever |
| 9. On The Other Side |
| 10. Sacrificed |
| 11. Waiting To Die |
| 12. Feedin' The Charlatan |
| 13. A Serenade For The Dead |
: 54.04
| Buy other Edge Of Sanity albums |
