October Tide
Tunnel of No Light

June 2013
Released: 2013, Pulverized Records
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

Having only had one consistent member throughout their history, you might not have been convinced of October Tide’s longevity and ability to deliver such consistently ear-pleasingly morose material, but after two decades of existence as a band, guitarist Fredrik Norman and his Swedish melo-doom comrades are here to prove you wrong.



Their latest release, ‘Tunnel of No Light,’ starts as it means to go on. ‘Of Wounds To Come’ sets the tone for the rest of the album; Well sculpted songs - overlaid with harmonic, ornate, sometimes searing lead guitars, interlacing and creating harmony and counterpoint with a huge sounding rhythm section.



Vocalist Alexander Högbom (Spasmodic) makes his debut appearance for the band and shows he is more than adept at the mournful growlings which do not so much come to the forefront of the songs, but sit perfectly and add their weight as another part of the ensemble.



Overall, the Stockholm sound is very prevalent, but twisted in a way that I believe only a band with 20 years experience could muster (see Thyrfing - De Ödeslösa.)



The sounds of many of your favourite Stockholm bands are bought to mind through the duration of the album, from early Opeth and Katatonia through to later Edge Of Sanity etc, but at no point do October Tide cross too far into the auditory domain of others.



This may not be the strongest of October Tide’s offerings, but despite not having crossed to a mainstream level to the band continue to hold their own, and any fan of the genre will find something to enjoy in this album.



Review by Kevin Griffiths