review by: Ryan Loostrom
It's about time people raised their hands in honor of Darkane whenever their name was mentioned. They've been hanging around the Swedish metal scene for quite awhile now, and released three CDs of high-grade, nigh unclassifiable death metal starting with their debut gem, Rusted Angel. They showed a very competent mixture of not only death metal, but technical death, thrash, and even non-linear melody.
Two CDs later, the band offers their fourth opus, a journey into a completely chameleon-esque brand of original metal with Layers of Lies. Darkane have well learned to step out of their safety zone and experiment with differing sounds and styles, and it's easily noticeable on this CD. Whereas Rusted Angel gave them their default sound with more of a sonic approach to metal, Insanity gave them access to the massive vein of death thrash, and they tapped it well. Their riffs changed from such fret-noodling to more texture-focused music, and offered a much more heavy style than Rusted Angel.
However, they also showed how to draw much more influence melodically with Expanding Senses. Again, without stepping into the realm of watered-down Gothenburg melody, Darkane seamlessly tackled the melodic death metal approach, borrowing certain methods from where you wouldn't expect – places like Fear Factory.
With Layers of Lies, Darkane present a streamlined amalgam of what they've learned so far, with an emphasis on the more subtle aspects of their music – and even borrowed from a few new, interesting places as well, most noticeably Scarve, Meshuggah, and Strapping Young Lad.
Of course, the Darkane trademarks are still here, especially with the intro "Amnesia of the Wildoerian Apocalypse"(Catch the corny pun?) The instrumental sets the stage, so-to-speak, for the rest of the CD. The mood it establishes has a specifically ominous feel, especially with the almost mechanized riff structure towards the end. However, Darkane demolish the mood and serve up the first exercise in freneticism on the CD, "Secondary Effects." Sounding right at home on Rusted Angel, the songs immediately takes flight with Darkane's signature guitar v. drum sound. Peter Wildoer maniacally plods through his own drum course while Malmstrom's twisty-turny, Maiden-turned-pessimistic riffs teem about in a sonic myriad. As soon as the pre-chorus hits, the momentum takes a standstill as the chorus presents a melodically charged wall of sound. Sydow's half-growl, half-bark also manages a Devin Townsend notion of layering over the melody, as well.
"Organic Canvas" follows closely in the method, and features almost the same drum rhythm while Malmstrom's caustic riffing again launches into effect, offering high-end dissonant melodies along the way. The chorus here has a distinctly depressive feel to it as well, as the chorus rises in key to feel almost engulfing.
It's another one of the places where you appreciate the collective influence Darkane are working with. Much like Devin Townsend's Strapping Young Lad, the chorus tends to paint a soundscape on the backdrop with some synthesized effects, while the lead guitar textures it accordingly on top of the chorus rhythm.
This is where some of the new attributes of Darkane shine through, though. There's a passage here of completely odd time-signature rhythm that Ideberg, Malmstrom, and Wildoer offer that sounds distinctly Meshuggah with a razor, then gives way to another of the many tasteful leads over the time-modulated rhythms, that almost feels like a welcome addition to Darkane's already massive structural talent. "Vision of Degradation" is where the Meshuggah influence really dictates its presence, though. The opening verse shows Malmstrom pulling off a Haake imitation with the multiple rhythms active at once giving way to more of Malmstrom and Ideberg's off-beat and non-linear riffing.
It seems like Darkane pulled out all the stops for the title-track, "Layers of Lies." This is how it should be done, not to mention. If you're going to name a track after the CD, then definitely give it the feel of the CD's best representative. At any rate, the song features the most noticeable progression of any Darkane song, offering almost two complete separate rhythm sections as well as progressively growing in intensity. The song opens with some acoustic guitar work that sounds distinctly Stratovarius in nature, and gives way to some ethereal opening leadwork. It also seems like Wildoer felt he should emphasize the trodding and epic feel of the riffs here, because instead of his typical bass / snare pattern that lets Malmstrom and Ideberg cleverly paint the rhythm instead, he offers a gallop with some intense cymbal-work. The chorus is also particularly entrenching, mainly because of the depressive feel it has.
Shortly thereafter, though, Darkane curtail it with another one of their riffs that sound almost biting in nature, and give way to yet another excellent harmonized lead. By the final time the chorus is repeated you can hear the amplified effect that the lead guitar takes texturing the chorus, and Wildoer continues to demolish his drumkit in the backdrop of the song.
Darkane successfully delivered a contender for CD of the year with Layers of Lies, and it's definitely no surprise if you've been following their career. Their chameleon nature puts them in with the likes of bands such as Meshuggah and Scarve who're about as unclassifiable as they are magnificent. Darkane's nonlinear approach to metal has finally fine-tuned itself down into an even more well-oiled machine, and now they're set to pummel every preconceived notion of what melody or heaviness was before, even the marriage of the two. It's Darkane's turn to slay, and that they do with Layers of Lies. (10/10)
