Darkane — Layers of Lies

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

18 years ago today, Darkane peeled back the “Layers of Lies” of this “Godforsaken Universe”!

On this day (June 27) in 2005, Darkane released their fourth full-length studio album, “Layers of Lies via Nuclear Blast.

The release of this album took sometime since the previous album because Peter Wildoer suffered a severe hand injury in 2003 which left him uncertain whether he would drum again but miraculously a year later recovered. Along with that, Wildoer became busy with Christofer Malmström’s new project at the time, Non-Human Level.

This was the last album to feature vocalist Andreas Sydow who left in 2007.

Background:

Darkane toured extensively following the release of “Expanding Senses”, and by early 2004 had almost an entire album's worth of songs written. However, at that time, drummer Peter Wildoer suffered a wrist injury, and began experiencing severe wrist pain. The band went on hiatus to allow Wildoer to recover. During this hiatus, guitarist Christofer Malmström released a solo album (Non Human Level) which was a compilation of unreleased songs he had written from 1998–2004. Guitarist Klas Ideberg also spent time working with his side project Terror 2000.

By late 2004, Wildoer's injury had healed, and the band reconvened to record their fourth album, “Layers of Lies”. It would be the last album to feature vocalist Andreas Sydow, as on August 13, 2007 he decided to end his tenure with Darkane. This led to the arrival of former Construcdead and The Defaced vocalist, Jens Broman on October 25, 2007.

Critical Reception:

In his review for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia states; “Prior to releasing their fourth album Layers of Lies in 2005, Sweden's Darkane had been sidelined for almost two years by everything from solo projects to physical injury to outright exhaustion; but the break did them a world of good and it's a noticeably refreshed… though still imminently recognizable… Darkane making their recorded return on this accomplished Death Metal/Thrash album. And energetic Death Metal/Thrash is exactly what we get, following a typically symphonic diversion to open up the LP (and later enriching closer "The Creation Insane"), but there's a lingering meatiness to Darkane's riffing (derived from their Death Metal roots, no doubt) that really distinguishes them from their mostly Thrashier contemporaries, and marks them as something of a less fashion-prone proposition, to boot. At the same time, representative tunes like "Secondary Effect," "Organic Canvas," and the title track stick with traditional verse-chorus-verse structures… not anything as free-form as old-school Death Metal, for maximum assimilation.

Vocalist Andreas Sydow deserves special mention for his versatility, as he adeptly screams, snarls, and, yes, even sings to match each passage's needs; his choruses usually aided by carefully orchestrated vocal backups from his bandmates. Think Def Leppard gone neo-Thrash and… just kidding …more like Fear Factory circa “Demanufacture”, actually. Anyhow, the latter can sound a tad forced on "Fading Dimensions" and "Vision of Degradation," but the surrounding instrumental ferocity generally counters any worries of commercial sellout on the spot. And when they really do break out of character for the trad-metal anomaly "Maelstrom Crisis," Darkane know to keep it short and keep it instrumental… as if to assure their listeners that they too consider this an experimental aside. Further reason to assume that “Layers of Lies” will probably connect with fans of other Swedish post-Death Metal racers like Soilwork and The Haunted, while its added flair for complex riff-changes takes care of those Metal-heads who find the latter a little too straightforward.”

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Layers of Lies (Bonus Version)” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/layers-of-lies-bonus-version/1624475127

Click this link to listen to “Layers of Lies” via Spotify: Layers of Lies https://open.spotify.com/album/7dEzMQaZvEYpmQNgT9hRqj

Click this link to follow Darkane on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkane

Click this link to follow Peter Wildoer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peterwildoerofficial

Click this link to follow Christofer Malmström on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christofer.malmstrom

Click this link to follow Andreas Sydow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreas.sydow.rh

Click this link to follow Klas Ideberg on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/klas.ideberg

Click this link to follow Jorgen Lofberg on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jorgen.lofberg

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Darkane — Layers of Lies

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