It is safe to say that Swedish In Mourning is probably somewhat underrated. Not sure what the issue is, whether the band spent their early years bouncing from one lesser label to another with every album, or the more gothic angle to their melodic doom metal on those albums. With their last two albums, however, an “oceanic story” of sorts, In Mourning has been unquestionably gaining steam. Garden of Storms is a closure of this trilogy, and probably its pinnacle, despite the band turning over two members, one of them being drummer Daniel Liljekvist (ex-Katatonia).

Even though In Mourning moniker may hint at funeral doom, the band never really dabbled in that realm and on Garden of Storms then do not go into totally grieving direction either, except maybe in some places on the grandiose finale The Lost Outpost. If anything, progressive melodic doom of In Mourning receives a hefty infusion of deathly, and even thrashy, direction on the album. The strong and tempo driven riffs of Black Storm may remind of old Opeth, when riff was crowned an unquestionable king, and throbbing double bass and thrashing blasts plus rousing melody of Huntress Moon bring out Gothenborg and Dark Tranquillity. Black Storm also has other practically melodic death moments … until In Mourning crushes it all into fuzzy progressive dreams, only to emerge even stronger on the other side. And so the band moves from ebb to extremely muscular flow in the span of the same song or from one song to another, alternating predatory charge of Hierophant with its jazzy middle with shimmering expansive psychedelic Magenta Ritual. Just like songs and moods on the album In Mourning vocals, by Tobias Netzell, shift from gravely growls to ethereal cleanliness, with a female coloring in spots (The Lost Outpost). Another superinteresting aspect of Garden of Storms is its nonlinear bouncy percussion. Not since Katatonia’s Last Fair Deal Gone Down have I been enamored by the drums lines that much, so kudos to Joakin Stranberg-Nilsson replacing Liljekvist who was of course the drummer on the aforementioned Katatonia release. Throughout this mesmerizing and phantasmagorical quirky mixture, In Mourning guitars never lose focus, never seize to penetrate the fabric and squeeze out tinnitus reverberating melodies. Not obvious, simple or in your face, Garden of Storms melodies never stagnate and their subtle unassuming nature is probably one of the album’s main strengths.

Whether this album assumes the mantle of old Opeth or fits in the period right before Katatonia was forced to soften out can be debated. To take sides in that debate is rather pointless in my mind, since In Mourning manages to carve out a niche of its own, and not copying the more known collectives, or drifting into mainstream gothic rock is absolutely commendable. Garden of Storms built on success and delivered a victory of its own. Very worth the 50 min you will spend with it, and I guarantee you will want repeat listens.