Band:	In Vain
Album:	Solemn
Style:	Progressive death metal
Release date:	April 2024

01. Shadows Flap Their Black Wings
02. To The Gallows
03. Season Of Unrest
04. At The Going Down Of The Sun
05. Where The Winds Meet
06. Beyond The Pale
07. Blood Makes The Grass Grow
08. Eternal Waves
09. Watch For Me On The Mountain

‘Solemn’ is a word with two rather distinct meanings: ‘solemn’, as in grand, ceremonial and majestic; and ‘solemn’, as in sombre, pensive or dour. The regal figure depicted on Solemn’s cover art indicates that In Vain may be intending to evoke the former meaning, and the music contained within Solemn very much supports this.

One of Norway’s standout progressive metal acts, In Vain haven’t rushed things in the past decade; since releasing arguably their most acclaimed record, Ænigma, in 2013, there have been waits of 5 and now 6 years before further studio output. Given the elaborate nature of their melodeath- and meloblack-infused progressive metal style, perhaps time and contemplation is necessary to refine the band’s creativity into cohesive output; however, perhaps another factor in play this time around has extended the writing and recording process. With a number of orchestral musicians credited as guests this time around (in addition to strings arrangements composed by drummer Tobias Øymo Solbakk), there’s a whole new level of grandeur to Solemn when compared with its predecessors.

Those symphonic elements, which expand upon previous dalliances with orchestral instruments on previous releases, add to the established foundations of In Vain’s sound, which flickers between melody-tinged aggression and evocative, bombastic melody in a manner reminiscent of their compatriots in Borknagar, not least in part due to the nature and harmonizing of the clean vocals (and perhaps unsurprisingly so, given the familial ties between In Vain’s Sindre Nedland and Borknagar’s Lazare Nedland). Coming but two months after Borknagar’s own long-awaited return, Solemn arguably exhibits more ambition than Fall, as while the style remains familiar at a general level, its implementation feels quite new here.

I’ll use Ænigma as my primary reference point, partly because it’s generally considered their best effort thus far, and partly because it’s comfortably the album of theirs that I’m most familiar with. One way in which I feel that Solemn distinguishes itself from Ænigma is in the nature of its melodicism. The latter record had a slight folkish touch to its rousing clean sung passages and meloblack melodies; in contrast, the triumphant, soaring choruses that are scattered across Solemn at times feel somewhat uplifting, and almost heroic or theatrical. I find this to most be the case on “Where The Winds Meet”, a fascinating album centrepiece that doles out extremity with frenetic tremolo outbursts and contorted, chromatic solos, yet soars with playful, spellbinding clean-sung segments that would sound perfectly in place at the climax of an epic prog or power metal concept album.

The songs, which are almost all as lengthy as their verbose track titles, consistently feature complex song structures that are equally willing to go on convoluted detours as they are to throw out a catchy hook. Opening song “Shadows Flap Their Black Wings” perhaps focuses more than most tracks here on the latter, making an immediate statement of intent during the chorus, where lively tremolos and rampant double bass drumming lay a prime foundation for the exquisite chorus. Still, while the first few minutes maintain a consistent sound and typical A/B format, there’s a quite delightful about-turn around 3 minutes in towards a rather lush dual-guitar melodic sequence that owes a certain something to melodic metalcore.

Not all the songs here necessarily pull off such fluency with their transitions between sections; if there’s any area in which I would unequivocally rank Ænigma above Solemn, it is in the cohesion of the songwriting. The rather Borknagar-esque “To The Gallows” has some quite delightful moments, particularly a quite airy dual-guitar melodic segment just after the halfway mark, but there’s 2 or 3 sections of the song that don’t feel natural as part of the same overall composition. Similarly, as great as each of the song’s two sides are in isolation, I’m not entirely convinced how well the brooding, aggressive portions of “Seasons Of Unrest” fit with its tender, gazy softer side (although the interlude with the saxophone solo is excellent).

Still, where Solemn shines is with the strength of its standout moments, which is something that previous album Currents struggled with for me. There’s some luscious higher-register vocal harmonies and guitar solos in “Beyond The Pale”, and an entertaining repeated segment near the end with a lively melodeath guitar lead and energetic vocals. On top of that, while it’s another example of a segment in a song that feels a tad out of place in contrast to its surroundings, the guitar-led instrumental bridge in the middle of “Blood Makes The Grass Grow” is joyously uplifting, and segues seamlessly into a rousing tremolo passage. Closing song “Watch For Me On The Mountain” has a hint of Disillusion to it, yet generally offers a surprisingly understated ending to an otherwise eclectic and vibrant record.

When considering Solemn’s place within In Vain’s discography, I’m not sure I can quite rank it above Ænigma, purely from a cohesion and consistency standpoint. However, it follows not at all far behind; there’s always been a slight oddness to In Vain’s writing that has both helped them stand out in the prog scene while also holding back albums such as The Latter Rain and Mantra from being as all-round great as they could have been. On Solemn, In Vain manage to make arguably their most unique-sounding record yet, while also offering enough material that is fundamentally gratifying and joyous as to not compromise satisfaction for innovation.