Band: Hanging Garden
Album title: The Garden
Release date: 24 March 2023
Label: Agonia Records
Genre: Melodic Doom Metal, Gothic Metal

Tracklist:
01. The Garden
02. The Four Winds
03. The Construct
04. The Song Of Spring
05. The Fire At First Dawn
06. The Nightfall
07. The Stolen Fire
08. The Journey
09. The Derelict Bay
10. The Fireside
11. The Resolute

Doom metal expanded into so many different forms and had a huge evolution lately, leave aside the so-called stoner doom, which got stuck in the 70s, but concentrate on the gloomier side, the one which evolved in the early 90s with the British trio Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema. Now, over 30 years later, we can witness quite some bands doing great and innovative things by keeping all the beautiful darkness, melancholy and emotions. Among the bands responsible for some of the greatest works in this sector in the last 20 years is undoubtedly Finnish Hanging Garden. Its albums: At Every Door (2013), Blackout Whiteout (2015), and the two years ago released masterpiece Skeleton Lake, are definitely the kind of albums to be discovered by any fan of deep, melancholic and melodic doom metal.

The Garden, the album number eight for these Finns, opens up another atmospheric yet cinematic and emotional sonic world that transforms the darkness and despair into something sweet and worth discovering. If the previous albums were more or less devoted to the darkness, loss and melancholy in all of its glory, The Garden has some room for hope and light, at least lyrical-wise. Music is still sombre and gloomy, though accompanied by lighter catchy moments. The song structures are not that simple but multi-layered, sometimes with progressive yet cinematic hints, often melodic and gently keeping the balance between the two opposite worlds - it's a perfect symbiosis of coldness and warmth.

In a way, the band simplified its compositions, making them more music-driven, already on its previous album, and The Garden does follow this path. So, while the songs superficially might sound simple and mellow, once you get properly into them, without distractions, a whole universe of coherent sounds opens to you. Above all, Hanging Garden has improved a lot on a vocal basis throughout the years. The varied vocals now shift between the ethereal sensual female vocals, deep harsh ones, soaring clean male vocals, some spoken words and even blackened screams - a good example is "The Journey". It's all perfectly balanced, and some male/female duets are so very charming and emotive that you almost stay without a breath. The intricate guitars are great, yet sometimes put a little bit into the background, while where needed, the rhythmic line struck with all of its power conjured by the bombast of pounding drums. Still, the band never goes to extremes - but keeps the pace in harmony with the gloomy atmospheric sounds provided by the amazing keys and the addition of several electronic samples.

From the album-titled opener on, we are embraced in the world full of lush, fairy-tale kind of atmospheres, both tender and harsh, devilish and serene, and setting sails on a journey to mankind's spiritual roots, contemplating the fragility of our technological society. It's impossible not to feel anything while the beautiful "The Song Of Spring" starts to spin or when the prog rock elements in "The Fire At First Dawn" soften things down, right where needed before the storm comes with the opulent and rhythmical-strong "The Nightfall". Your senses might feel some distress when the dark moody cello breaks the skies and deepens the things even more. I was enjoying a lot also the rather danceable rhythms of the groovy "The Fireside" and then the dramatic and intense, melo-death-oriented "The Resolute", which comes to serve as the perfect ending to this beautiful vibrant and melancholic journey called The Garden.

Hanging Garden once again proved to be an absolute force of doom and gloom and one of the most intriguing melodic doom metal bands active today. Not only that it's capable of taking the listener on a beautiful sonic journey, but it also serves something new and dynamic with every new record. The Garden is the band's debut for the Polish label Agonia Records before they were loyal to Lifeforce Records for almost ten years. It also marks the return of new-old drummer Antti Ruokola, last seen in Hanging Garden seven years ago. Nevertheless, Hanging Garden released, once again, an astonishing musical opus - full of captivating melodies, seductive vocal lines, dense multi-layered atmospheric music and intricate yet evocative song structures; highly recommended.

The review was written by Tomaz
Rating: 8,5/10

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