Customer Reviews

Sorrow

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While 'Sorrow' is certainly not the best 3rd&M record, it is a strong debut. The signature sound that they used for their first two proper albums is almost completely developed here: moderately paced post-metal tunes, steeped in ambience, melancholy, and melodrama. Opening track 'Grivinnens Bonn' thunders majestically along for 3 and a half minutes before Kari's vocal starts, and it's only a 6 and quarter minute track... Next we get the title cut, a little Renaissance-style acoustic number, a bit precious for my taste, but it is very pretty, no matter how you slice it. Third track, 'Ring of Fire', not to be confused with the June Carter Cash penned ditty, is the most metal tune on the EP: reminds me a good bit of 'Turn Loose the Swans'-era My Dying Bride. This of course means it ain't even a little bit death metal, but it does have a smattering of double bass and discrete movements in its 4 minute duration. The final piece, 'Silently I Surrender', features some overly proggy drumming, but also foreshadows several tunes that would appear on their first full length.

I actually have the 'In This Room'/'Sorrow' re-issue disc. If you can hunt down this edition, do it. It claims to be re-mastered, but I can't hear any significant difference from the original.

By looking at the cover artwork of this album you can get an idea of what this album has to offer. Then you put the CD in your stereo and the trip begins. The first track is a mid-tempo piece with electric and acoustic guitars. The lyrics of the song are in their native language, Norwegian. The vocalist, Kari Rueslatten has got an amazing voice which is the first thing one will notice when listening to this album for the first time. She's got this warm and sweet voice and when she sings those high notes, I can only feel rapture by the emotional power of it. The second song ,"Sorrow" is an acoustic guitar piece with Kari giving a wonderful performance and with her ethereal vocals stealing the show once again. "Ring of Fire" is a slightly faster and heavier song. The fact that they use three guitars as well as keyboards gives them another touch of heaviness and allows the band to experiment with several different sounds. The final track "Silently I Surrender" is simply one of the best songs they ever recorded. Lots of variation between fast, slow and acoustic parts with Kari's vocals being a highlight. This EP was the first sign of a band destined to become really big. Highly recommended to fans of atmospheric doom or any other form of emotional music.