In Vain – Solemn

A gang of Norwegian rascals, this In Vain? Yes and no, is my answer to that and the explanation for that you can find out yourself in this review . The band is, in fact, a bit of a veteran and active since 2003, primarily in the realm of progressive death/black metal. The album Solemn being discussed here is their fifth full-length album and, alongside pure, hardcore blackened death, has ample space for melody, emotion and turmoil. This is mainly the result of the high variety in vocals, as we discern during a first listen a deathly shriek, deep growls, and atmospheric cleans. The nine tracks are lengthy and each has its own story, atmosphere and focus, giving the album a playtime of sixty minutes.

Elements foreign to the genre – call them progressive – come into play, for example by integrating a saxophone in Season of Unrest. Personally, I can appreciate that, although I suspect that may not be the case for everyone. I particularly enjoy the great variation that the Norwegians offer. Another very pleasant addition is the form and use of clean vocals and they may also be a bit ‘love it or hate it’. That being said, no one can deny that these Norwegians can write excellent songs. Previous reviews on Zware Metalen of their earlier albums The Latter Rain, Mantra, Ænigma and Currents have already appreciated the band’s worth. Since the band has developped  significantly over its entire twenty-one-year existence, Solemn will undoubtedly go down in history as their best material.

Right from the start, this album grabs the listener by the balls. And if you don’t have the physical balls, consider it as proverbial. Musically, In Vain – as described in one of the earlier reviews – constantly keeps you guessing. By that, I mean we’re thrown from Dimmu Borgir to Amorphis, and via Opeth back to Hypocrisy. And believe me when I say there are still other nuances and bands within that range. It almost seems impossible to achieve this within one song, but go ahead and listen to the added opener Shadows Flap Their Black Wings. The idea of integrating brass instruments to then solo wildly will surprise anyone hearing the song for the first time. And this is only the beginning of this extremely intriguing album. At this point you haven’t been able to perceive or fully grasp the full range of sounds yet. Let alone fully comprehend and absorb them. This requires multiple listens.

To the Gallows is similarly complex, but then again, it cracks a considerably hard(er) nut by explosively opening with overwhelming blasts and manic vocal eruptions. These vocal eruptions stay relentlessly malicious throughout the entire song and are stylishly interspersed with sensitive cleans and melancholic guitars. The meandering bass guitar and the ever-changing guitar riffs play an important role here. An almost imperceptible slowing down of the rhythm section is smoothly pulled into a brief, almost frivolous guitar twinkle. Staccato riffs are once again accompanied by cleans, just before the tempo picks up again and the band casually repeats a similar passage in an amazing manner. Then, with a screaming guitar, we move into the dark, melodic final phase with extreme black metal vocals. Honestly, after hearing this song, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. What madness!

During the initial phase of the third track Season of Unrest aggression, contemplation, and emotion engage in a balanced struggle. As described earlier, a saxophone comes into play during a calm bridge section, seemingly effortlessly fitting in and moving beautifully with the rougher sounds. When the various vocals resurface, all I want to do is turn up the volume a little more each time. These songs are so intensely enjoyable! At the Going Down of the Sun starts as a sort of doomy, eerily oriented tale, including jagged guitar riffs and melodic sounds. Right after the third minute mark, one of the guitarists seems to have something to express, delivering a goosebump-inducing solo. The song progresses, and the story reverberates in my head, due to the impact and intelligibility of the vocals:

“At the going down of the sun
Until the end
When days are gone
When the sun no longer sets
When we’re closing in
The burning flame will guide us
Through centuries”

In Vain then blazes in Where the Winds Meet. Relentless black metal that only briefly offers space for clean singing in the beginning. Later on, there’s a lot more progressiveness, suddenly bursting in out of nowhere by repeating the same piece of text in different vocal lines. The music takes off at an almost impossible speed in all directions, with the drummer playing a leading role with polyrhythmic shenanigans. Make space for a large amount of groove, because that certainly has to be there as well. The gripping clean vocals rise to a lonely height in quality and then this song is truly over. Beyond the Pale starts off relatively “normal”, but what is actually “normal” for these gentlemen? Certainly not the vocals, as we soon hear, with a dramatic amount of overlaps, sounds and amalgams. The band plays with my psyche and emotions to vary unbelievably within this song with dark passages and melancholic incantations. And then, as if out of nowhere, after a melancholic passage, they spit out a few angrily sounding words in staccato style, only to gracefully depart in a short, ethereal manner.

Initially, the Norwegians seem to take a brief pause during Blood Makes the Grass Grow. And while that’s true, appearances are a bit deceiving here, as after a few minutes, a fast, harsh passage follows on drums and vocals. This is the exception within the rule because for the most part, this song is more focused on the cleans and the emotional side of the story. Eternal Waves relies on a set of strings, an electronic bridge section, and the ever-increasing drum rhythms. The vocals are exemplary and fit seamlessly into everything we’ve heard before. Closing song Watch for Me on the Mountain is structured a bit differently, with the clean vocals setting the tone for a relatively long time. But In Vain would not be In Vain if this ninth track Solemn, would end as a filler. The vocal variation is at its best here, with choir-like chants overlapped by a clear lead vocal, which is then alternated with grunts in a thrilling metal passage. A beautiful melodic closer – perhaps slightly less remarkable than the preceding tracks – but as the last track, it certainly holds its own.

Perhaps my review is too long and the music should speak for itself, but I simply cannot resist bringing the class and quality of these Norwegians to your attention. So, I conclude now with the following: Solemn is a special album that I see as a tribute to the work of the bands mentioned in this review. An album that can easily aim for a top spot in the year-end list(s) of progressive death/black fans. An album that will cause a shock in the metal landscape, breaking down the boundaries of existing categorization. An album that will repeatedly break and rebuild the (over)sensitive fan, making them listen again, experience, be inspired, but above all, enjoy. In Vain will shed any semblance of “just another prog band doing their thing” after the release of this highly commendable album and assert its rightful place in the highest metal echelons. I do not exaggerate when I say that this Norwegian band will start a new ‘paradigm shift’ with this album.

Score:

97/100

Label:

Indie Recordings, 2024

Tracklisting:

1. Shadows Flap Their Black Wings
2. To the Gallows
3. Season of Unrest
4. At the Going Down of the Sun
5. Where the Winds Meet
6. Beyond the Pale
7. Blood Makes the Grass Grow
8. Eternal Waves
9. Watch for Me on the Mountain

Line-up:

• Johnar Håland – Guitar
• Kjetil D. Pedersen – Guitar
• Sindre Nedland – Vocals
• Andreas Frigstad – Vocals
• Alexander Bøe – Bass
• Tobias Øymo Solbakk – Drums

Links:

• In Vain Facebook
• Indie Recordings