Style: Blackened doom metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: Melodic doom metal with some wicked black metal vocals
Thoughts: I miss old Katatonia. October Tide was created initially to explore what would have happened if Katatonia had kept to extreme metal. After two albums they discontinued the project... until Fredrik Norman left the band and resurrected it.
In Splendor Below sees the band exploring a more blackened sound than some of the previous albums. This still has strong leanings towards the first two Katatonia albums, but it's progressed significantly since then. It's not just the steady backbeat with repeating melodies from Brave Murder Day (though those do come up from time to time). This is more pure melodic doom metal where the lead guitars put layer upon layer of sorrowful melodies at a time.
October Tide has had some interesting twists and turns over their career, but In Splendor Below is one of the high points in the band's later period. It's a solid slab of melodic doom metal, and rather encouraging after a few mediocre releases. Looking forward to where these guys go from here.
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