There are not too many death/doom/gothic metal bands who have two synth players in the band, but that is what we have here as the current line-up of Hanging Garden is Jussi Hämäläinen (guitars, backing vocals), Nino Hynninen (synths), Toni Hatakka (vocals), Jussi Kirves (bass, synths), Riikka Hatakka (vocals), Antti Ruokola (drums, programming) and Kimmo Tukiainen (guitars). But before I go any further, I do need to make mention of Jaime Gomez Arellano (Opeth, Moonspell, Ghost etc) who mixed and mastered this as his contribution cannot be overstated.
I must confess I have not been a huge fan of what I have previously heard from Hanging Garden, but here everything comes together in a monstrous album where the sound is absolutely huge yet never compressed and with clear definition between the layers. Both singers can provide clean vocals when the time is right, as well as plenty of screams and growls. There is a great deal of space, so when the guitars crunch, they really hit hard, yet there is also the feeling of commerciality within the extreme, melody in the darkness, while the lyrics themes revolve around the spiritual aspects of life, death and the liminality in between. The music and words are perfectly suited to each other, and the first time I played this all the way through it was on headphones with my eyes closed as I was taken to a different realm altogether, such is the power of what was going on between my ears. This album has made me rethink my previous views on these guys, and I can see me looking out more releases as this is a fascinating melodic take into the darkness which is weirdly symphonic and all-encompassing.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/HangingGardenOfficial/
https://agoniarecords.com/