Sometimes I just need a break from all the brutal music I listen to. Whether it’s some bouncy folk/viking metal, some melodic black metal or just something else to reset to internal brutality meter. Recently, it’s a few choice releases- the debut from Moldavia’s Arcturus worshiping Chordewa, Deathpoint’s soaring metalcore, Barishi’s prog waft and this, the second album of melodic death metal from Sweden’s Planet Rain.

Those that still revere Disillusion’s now decade old debut Back to Times of Splendor (me included), will find a lot to like here. It’s intelligently crafted melodic death from cut from the classic Gothenburg cloth but with a slightly orchestral and progressive  tint and rendering the all important clean vocals rather well. Of course, if you think that melodic death metal is dead, then there won’t be much here for you to enjoy as it’s full of catchy, well produced, hooky riffs and solos, even with the proggy vibe that flows within.

The balance is the expected melodic canter and a few more aggressive blasts (“The Dereliction” pt 2″ The Bonds of Oblivion” and “Shockwave”) and plenty of mid paced moments. Bu the band isn’t a simple verse/chorus band with the prog tendencies making for a more in depth and labyrinthine  experience that’s incredibly satisfying. The seven songs are generally a bit longer and twist and turn with multiples shifts within each song long no further than standout opener “On Darkling Plains”

It’s for the most part very bright and uplifting, especially the often exquisite keyboards as displayed in the albums catchiest track  “Fluxus”, “Kryptographik” and “The Worlds We Devour”  but then there is “Solstorm”, which has a bit of a melancholic edge to it. The vocals are a slightly deeper growl and the normal mid range rasp, with a few decent clean vocals thrown (to really great effect to end “The Dereliction” pt 2″ The Bonds of Oblivion”) in here and there, but they are certainly not the focal vocal point. In all a very nice little melodic death metal release with equal parts teeth and brains that signals the genre isn’t quite dead yet.

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