Search - Darkane :: Insanity

Insanity...that pretty much sums it up!

Tom Z | USA | 09/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Darkane are the true masters of thrash. It's too bad they got overlooked in the Swedish popularity surge a few years back. If they had come out at any other time they would be at the top of the underground metal scene. Unfortunately that didn't happen and now they're forced to dwell in obscurity. Enough of my b*tching though, and on to the review. Insanity is the perfect title for this album. The weird layout of the lyrics, the distorted vocals and the eccelectic (god I butchered that word!) sound of the album will make it seem like your going insane. All makes for a damn heavy and strange experience. Like what would happen if you threw a handful of extreme acts like At The Gates, Slayer and old Metallica together then amped up the strangeness by about 1000. I don't have Rusted Angel or Expanding Senses yet but from what I hear they might even be better than this. If your a fan of thrash this is a must have, it beats the f*ck out of Lamb of God that's for sure!"

And the award for "Most Fitting Album Title Ever" goes to...

Wheelchair Assassin | The Great Concavity | 04/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Even in a Swedish metal scene filled with killer death/thrash bands, Darkane have managed to stake out a pretty distinctive niche. Darkane combine elements of bands like Iron Maiden, Slayer, At the Gates, and Meshuggah and spit out some very potent metal. They can blaze along at lightning speed one minute, and then turn around and hit you with an insanely addictive melodic passage. The songs constantly evolve, and with an unpredictability reminiscent of the mighty Meshuggah, Darkane's sound never gets boring. "Hostile Phantasm" and "Distress" are doubtless two of the fastest, craziest metal songs in history, and they're far from the only slabs of pummelingly heavy metal on here. A sound like Darkane's requires plenty of chops to pull off, and fortunately they have them. These guys create complex song structures that would give many bands an aneurysm. Peter Wildoer's drumming is brilliant, very fast, heavy, and technical. Klas Ideberg and Christofer Malmstrom churn out the hard-driving harmonies and screaming solos characteristic of the Swedish style, and Jorgen Lofberg's thumping bass is a constant presence in the background. And Andreas Sydow, while not my favorite vocalist, is definitely a versatile one. At times screams he screams like In Flames's Anders Frieden, and other times he delivers his vocals in a robotic growl similar to Meshuggah's Jens Kidman (yes, I know that's three Meshuggah references now, but the influence is obvious). Anyway, it's very impressive. "Insanity" is an excellent album all around, and definitely essential if you consider yourself a Swedish metal fan."