In Mourning - The Bleeding Veil (2021)^{Release ID: 32615}

The Bleeding Veil is a continuation of In Mourning's sound of progressive melodeath, a style I've left behind due to my death metal departure. Will I one day return to this style again? Probably, not right now, but this seems promising... The Bleeding Veil has the same quality as Garden of Storms, but with a few changes that are mostly good, but a few bad.

An Opeth-like way to open the album is the riffing of "Sovereign", a cool mid-paced opener, though less energetic than how Garden of Storms opens. In fact, much of the song has riffing inspired by Opeth, but near the end is a pleasant guitar solo. Besides that, "At the Behest of Night" also has Opeth-inspired verses, but the chorus really stands out.

Weakness is ahead with the lackluster riffing of "Solitude and Silence". However, the Opethian riffing in "Thornwalker" really makes up for that after an aggressive moment of blast beats. Consider me hooked to the heaviness!

"Blood in the Furrows" has some melancholic moments of soft gloom in a similar vein to Ghost Brigade. "Lights on the Mire" stands out with more of the chorus leads that work well in a soft background. The Amorphis-like closer, "Beyond Thunder" breaks the sky with an epic war between nice melodies and aggressive riffs. There's no telling which side would win, but it all works out as a song of ice and fire (Game of Thrones fans know that reference).

All in all, The Bleeding Veil continues the evolution of In Mourning's successful melancholic sound. It doesn't really beat Garden of Storms with a few uninteresting parts, but if I ever one day fully return to listening to this band, I might be able to appreciate these albums even more. Only time will tell....

Favorites: "At the Behest of Night", "Thornwalker", "Lights on the Mire", "Beyond Thunder"