Truth is that In Solitude’s affinity for these sounds had already been revealed in their sophomore effort, but this time around, the Swedes from Uppsala make it quite clear that they were inspired by the said outfits, and that they are through worshipping other bands.
In most cases, changes in style go hand in hand with adjustments in the album art, and Sister could be easily misunderstood as an unreleased album by early ‘80s post-punk/goth outfits such as Bauhaus, Joy Division and their peers. In what feels as an atypical answer to all concerned parties, the new In Solitude album, titled Sisters, sees the band in signifying the twilight of their idols. The Devil inherited a great deal of merit and momentum from its predecessor, yet elitists started speculating about In Solitude being something more than “just” an impressive retro metal band. The band continued to operate under the Mercyful Fate influence, only this time the already present NWOBHM incentives were enhanced, while some atmospheric/goth/psych elements made a minor, but perceivable appearance in the album. The departure of guitarist Mattias Gustafsson after In Solitude, combined with his replacement by Niklas Lindström, brought a mere shift in style in the follow-up album The World. In Solitude in particular, amazed the underground with the dark, complex at times, ‘80s heavy metal of their eponymous debut album, and the superb vocal work of heavy metal crooner Pelle Åhman. The above were a dogmatic certainty up until 2009, where bands like In Solitude and Portrait came to the surface and crushed the said perceptions to their own merit. As for King Diamond’s vocals, there wasn’t even a slightest hint of another vocalist coming remotely near, let alone walking along his characteristic vocal trails. See, when Mercyful Fate had risen from their tomb in the early ‘90s and during their near-10-year course, the world of metal rejoiced as none other outfit than MF themselves could reproduce that eerie ‘80s occult metal of albums such as Melissa and Don’t Break The Oath. For not so obvious reasons, one such band is Sweden’s In Solitude. The said debate gets even more intense about outfits residing in the grey area, bands that revisit the days of old, but have a way of bringing something of their own to the table sooner or later. There are the so-called “elitists”, who are in exclusive pursuit of originality, saying that derivative bands should be cast to the fire, and there are those who fancy discovering outfits that bring yesterday to today. Metalheads tend to debate a lot about bands having a voice of their own or not. Review Summary: In Solitude signify the twilight of their idols.