Hype is a two-edged sword, no question. With it comes backlash, expectations, and what must be an unbearable amount of pressure. But it also presents a hell of an opportunity if one has the balls to grab it. In Solitude — who recently graced the cover of Decibel magazine, and who released their third record in September, after coming to international attention on the strength of their last — have no shortage of balls. One of the three modern bands to reach prominence playing what has been labeled “Occult Heavy Metal”(along with Ghost and the Devil’s Blood), these guys hew closest to the source material from which the entire microgenre has sprung (we speak of Mercyful Fate, of course), though the new album, Sister, comes as a perfectly timed sidestep. Whereas Ghost’s second album fell apart under its own weight, and the Devil’s Blood gave up the ghost by imploding before their third record, In Solitude here take their sound and pull it all a little closer to the chest — songs are darker but more intimate, the arrangements moodier but ultimately more rewarding. But what’s most striking is singer Pelle Ahman’s emergence as one of the most exciting frontmen of his generation: Whether crooning or howling, his presence haunts the entire record, imbuing it with the kind of tangible feeling you rarely get listening to metal — in any other genre you’d call it “soul.” –Aaron
[LISTEN]