Back in the day I considered In Flames one of my favourite bands. This has since changed, but I am nostalgic to the Gothenburg Sound. The bands that share the melodic death metal sound that was pioneered in the early 90’s really changed the following decades. However one of the lesser known bands actually made an album that I consider as one of the better gothenburg sound records is Dimension Zero, Jesper Strömblad of In Flames-fame’s side project. The album is called Silent Night Fever.
Silent Night Fever was released in 2002 and with its heavier sound it felt like natural progression from At the Gates’ interpretation of melodic death rather than In Flames’ more melodic style. Which in my opinion is a very good thing.
With Joakim Göthberg (Ex-Marduk) on vocals the sound automatically becomes rawer. The riff based songs along with a lot of blast beats feels more timeless than the more melodic NWBHM-style that other bands opted for.
The titular opening song instantly engages the listener with its iconic “Just fucking go”. You know you are in for a ride, even though, in hindsight feel a bit juvenile. The album feels very together in the compositions, where are songs are a bit more melodic like Through the Virgin Sky and Your Darkest Hour with a lot of harmonising guitars. Silent Night Fever, Not Even Dead however beautifully contrast them with heavier riffs. The battery, the drums, are always active and gives a direction to all the songs, something that’s very important for me. The songs has to move forward and the driving force on Silent Night Fever is the drums.
There are a lot of good melodic death metal crammed onto just 31 minutes. Every melodic death metal fan should listen to this excellent album. Sadly the album isn’t on Spotify.
I picked up the album at a stall outside the festival area of Sweden Rock back in 08.
Grukk.com 