Review: The Other Sun ‘Daimon, Devil, Dawn’
Multi-instrumentalist Swedish band, The Other Sun, arise onto the scene with their plaintive and openly nostalgic debut album, Daimon, Devil, Dawn, released through Invictus Productions and The Ajna Offensive. Formed in Gothenburg by Fredrik Eytzinger, the band released their first EP in 2019.
The current line-up consists of the aforementioned Fredrik Eytzinger along with Árni Bergur Zoëga and Tommie Eriksson and is a band that means business, everyone dabbling heavily in other dark arts, Eytzinger in particular, a reputable writer throughout the US and Europe on all things occult. This is a record that very much wears its heart on its sleeve.
The opening track, Shaking Ground, builds from a simple single coil guitar to a swell of instrumentation. We are then eased gently into slow, psychedelic, minor-key melodies and Neil Hannon-ish vocals. The hilariously titled Stalking The Stalker has a Hank-Marvin-esque groove at first, the darker toned guitar work layering underneath occasional spoken word vocals.
Black As Gold continues with that groove, this time the vocals taking on more of a choral feel. Lion Spell brings the tempo back even further with its stripped-down guitar work and harmonising vocals building to an incantation-style conclusion. There’s a similar flow, if you like, to the rest of the album, sweeping between evocative guitar tones and layered vocals in equal measure.
a solid record that is best savoured with a glass of red wine under the pale, hound-howling moonlight…
Other notable moments include Horizon Between The Eyes, a beautiful dark country – maybe even Weird West – Ennio-Morricone-ish ballad, and the more upbeat A New Dawn, a mostly instrumental groove featuring guest vocals from Erik Molarin, previously of Swedish goth metal band Beseech now with Dark.
The production sounds decidedly analogue, a less-is-more approach really doing everything it can to rinse out those moods of yesteryear. The main inspiration is definitely ‘60s and ‘70s occult, but a lot of it is filtered through a somewhat dusty surf rock lens. And it works.
In the ever-increasing sea of occult revival rock, it can be difficult to stand out, and perhaps even more challenging is to come across as authentic as opposed to just nostalgic – and I think there’s a difference. The Other Sun manage both, I think, as they nail that analogue Hammer-Horror-esque tone instrumentally while still maintaining a little of the tongue-in-cheek and self-effacing vocal delivery that we’ve come to love about the genre.
Daimon, Devil, Dawn is a solid record that is best savoured with a glass of red wine under the pale, hound-howling moonlight.
Label: Invictus Productions | The Ajna Offensive
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Dharma
