DARKANE
One of the most highly anticipated releases of 2002, Expanding Senses finds itself on a competitive release schedule as fellow Swedes IN FLAMES also offer up their latest opus. However, this isn't about competition like you find at the box office when the summer thrillers hit the screen. You are going to slap down your $12-$16 on this no matter what anyone says (or you're going to get your cdr copy of it...tsk, tsk). The wait wasn't excruciating like it was for the new IN FLAMES as it only took our beloved DARKANE just over a year to come roaring back with their third onslaught. With all the hype that was circulating as this album hit the mixing room, you better believe that I was one of those that expected Expanding Senses to live up to it and frankly, I thought this might be the album of 2002. Sadly, 'tis' not to be.I want to complain a lot during this review but there is just something about this band and their music that absolutely forbids me from doing so. It must be in the undying faith I cling to that DARKANE will finally release the classic I know stirs within their creative souls. After last year's moderate let down, Insanity, I thought DARKANE would find a resolve to come back with something few could find fault with. They showed just how much collective songwriting and playing talent they had on their debut and were it not for those annoying vocal shrieks on Rusted Angel, perhaps that would have been the classic I keep waiting for now. Somehow DARKANE, as good as they are, seem to be cursed with some element of mismeasurement. After three albums, I feel like DARKANE are that talented sniper alone atop an isolated hilltop, zeroing in on his target, firing, and after three shots, finding their prey wounded but still alive.
In plain English, Expanding Senses is a good album, a solid piece of Thrash and more evidence that DARKANE are among Sweden's finest products but they seem to have missed the mark yet again, failing to deliver that final killing blow. They're closer to it however, and its those types of moments on this album that will have me spinning it well into the coming months. "So, Mr. Editor", you ask with arms folded, "what is the problem this time"? Well let's take the writers dissecting tools and find out.
The album opens with an uncannily slow and atmospheric track entitled "Innocence Gone". This song not only surprised me as it seemed a bad choice for an opener, but also because upon first listen it got me thinking that DARKANE were trying too hard to be that futuristic Thrash band everyone knows they want to be. It was not at all easy for me to settle into the album due to the this track and my mood was sullied as a result of it. Track two strikes with lethality though, and for a moment it seems that all is well and DARKANE are now in full form. Certainly the speed and aggressive vibes the song exudes confirms this but now a bigger nuisance becomes apparent - the production. I complained about just this facet on the last album and though I ultimately got used to the sound on Insanity, I was not as satisfied as I wanted to be. On Expanding Senses, the band sound as if they owed some favor to their terrific drummer, Peter Wildoer. Peter is an awesome player but did the drums on this recording really need to be louder than the twin axes of Chris Malmstrom and Klas Ideberg? The guitar sound on this album is not at all what it could have been and well, should have been. Not that its terrible but as a result of the final mix, the riffs on this album are not easily decipherable. This is great if DARKANE want to prevent bands from covering their songs but unfavorable to the general listening audience. The whole recording comes across a bit too dry and though there is ample depth, I get that nagging feeling that this could have sounded so much better with a few twists and turns at the mixing board.
Fine, no one is perfect. But the fact is I did give this a decent rating and justly so. After all, DARKANE is still DARKANE and though they seem to have mastered the art of coming up just a wee bit short of brilliance, they still play some of the catchiest, ball-busting Thrash Metal in Northern Europe. I guess that's my cue to be nice now and talk about all the cool things about Expanding Senses. I confess, I thought this album was barely mediocre upon first listen, the same way I felt after my first listen of Insanity last year. Let's just agree that DARKANE have dull teeth that don't slice into your flesh right away. Rather, they take successive bites, gnawing and chewing until they finally get through to you. After several listens I find myself really getting into Expanding Senses. Perhaps its my own senses expanding as I listen to real fistfuckers like "Imaginary Entity" with its bullying lead riff and psychotic pre-chorus. Or perhaps its the very DARK ANGEL-like headsplitter, "Violence From Within". Then again, it might be those absolutely killer riffs on "Parasites Of The Unexplained". Trust me children, this is one of the greatest Thrash songs of the past decade, a track that has you cycling back and back again to hear it again! My point to all this is that DARKANE are good songwriters who play with unquestionable conviction and authority. Even if all the pieces on Expanding Senses are not where they could or should be, the album succeeds on the merits of its zealous playing and noble construct. Credit issuance to the improved vocal performance of Andreas Sydow who has now developed a strong, patented style that is his and his alone. Not that it's perfect because at times there is a discordant effect as he tends to trail off note while the guitars head in an entirely different direction. The maturity and cohesiveness of his efforts though, are duly noted.
As I play this album for the umpteeth time since I got it three days ago, I am left both disappointed and reasonably satisfied that it will continue to grow on me. It took me weeks to get into Insanity and at least this time out it feels as if it will only take me a few more days to finally find harmony with Expanding Senses. If you are going to spend the money on this album, listen with an open mind and keep listening because its like one of those mystery movies that you have to watch time and time again to finally understand the entirety of the plot and how it all works to support the underlying theme. That said, Expanding Senses deserves a listening effort.
