Swallow the Sun - The Morning Never Came (2003)

Although only released back in late 2003, Swallow the Sun's debut, 'The Morning Never Came' is in my opinion (and many others) nothing short of an absolute modern doom metal masterpiece. Forging a path between atmospheric My Dying Bride-ish doom and gloom and highly melodic death metal characteristics, this 2003 Firebox Records release grabbed many folks attention back then, though personally it wasn't until two years later when I became aware of the band through the Century Media Records re-issue, and I've been quite the fan since.

For me what truly makes this record stand out is the hugely awe-inspiring guitar work of Markus Jämsen and band mastermind Juha Raivio. You'll find that some these riffs, especially those in the songs, 'Through her Silvery Body,' 'Swallow,' and 'Hold this Woe' are among some of the most gorgeous but ultimately heartbreaking riffs ever conceived within the doom metal genre. There's also riffs that give off an absolute foreboding feeling or even a few that are full of anger, and a lot that are just really catchy, but one thing that always remains is that the riffs and the solos are infinitely enduring and will have you clamoring for more and more, I guarantee it.

This release is only further augmented through Aleksi Munter's piano/keyboard work, which much like the guitar work is tremendously ethereal and admirable in its delivery and is not overly used either, nor does it overlap the other instruments, but it's always placed in absolutely the most perfect places to push this release to the next level of excellence. I've always been greatly impressed by vocalist Mikko Kotamäki's low guttural roars, high pitched shrieks and his occasional cleanly sung vocals too, and nowadays he remains just as striking, even within some of his side bands like Barren Earth and Verivala.

Matti Honkonen's bass work is not overly audible, but its there, its heavy and its effective, likewise Pasi Pasanen's stickwork is wonderfully performed too as he handles the slow tempos remarkably and during the occasional faster parts of this record he handles the brutality perfectly. I must also admit that I absolutely love the album artwork, the individual band photos are brilliant and honestly the group photo, which looks to have been shot in an old attic is quite possible one of the best band photos ever.

I've listened to this album a ridiculous amount of times over the past five years and never once has it gotten boring for me, in fact I adore every single song on it as its always been the perfect companion during somber lonely moods. What's crazy about the album though is that it has a certain driving catchy force behind it, which at least for me, allows me to headbang and growl right along with Mikko and the band, and during the three Swallow the Sun concerts I've been to I've surely done exactly that.

As dawn approaches, but never occurs, I consider, 'The Morning Never Came' to be a faultless gem that is utterly mandatory for doom metal listeners.