Review Summary: Don't you ever close your heart.
I've seen it bandied about online that When a Shadow is Forced into the Light, the seventh album by Finnish death/doomers Swallow the Sun, is part of a clandestine trilogy of albums concerning the death of longtime StS backing vocalist Aleah Stanbridge, and when you think about it, it totally makes sense. When paired together with the previous two albums in this apparent trilogy (Hour of the Nightingale by Trees of Eternity and No Stars Upon the Bridge by Hallatar), When a Shadow is Forced into the Light absolutely feels like the conclusion to the "story" the albums tell, that story being primary composer Juha Raivio's attempt to come to terms with the loss of his lover and creative partner. There's a natural flow to the music on all three albums; Hour of the Nightingale is an exceptionally melancholic, sorrowful record, while still retaining an odd warmness to the proceedings, while No Stars Upon the Bridge is a bleak, hopeless, emotionally miserable, seemingly angry record, as if Raivio's sort of letting out his frustrations with the situation through the music. This is where When a Shadow is Forced into the Light comes into the picture, as it's kind of a mixture of the sounds and overall emotions of the preceding two records alongside elements faintly identifiable as Swallow the Sun, and it all works in tandem with one another in the most incredible way possible.
If we're viewing this record as part of a stealth trilogy with the previously mentioned records, it's only fitting that of the three albums, this one has the fewest Aleah handprints to be found. Not necessarily just in the fact that she had been deceased for nearly three years by the time of release and whatever creative remains of hers that were left behind are a finite resource at this point (she is credited with songwriting and lyrics on "Clouds on Your Side", but that's it), but also that, in the context of the emotional journey of the trilogy, Raivio seems to slightly, finally, be coming out of the haze that was suddenly losing a loved one. Don't get me wrong, every single second of When a Shadow... concerns itself with Aleah, but it's through a lens of recovering and starting to move past the tragedy rather than allowing it to envelope you every waking moment of the day as No Stars Upon the Bridge did. Chapter Three of Juha Raivio's musical therapy is a cathartic release of all the lingering feelings he has had towards Aleah's death and the uncertainty that comes with such an occurrence, a slight reflection on the events that led to this point, and this is most identifiable by the near complete lack of musical elements that made Swallow the Sun identifiable as such for so many years. This is the sonic outlier in StS's catalog, as it's more a much heavier and darker take on the style Trees of Eternity played than anything resembling past StS material. Gone are the chuggy guitars and noticeable melodic death metal elements, replaced by lush, thick chords and the most keyboards I can ever recall on a Swallow the Sun record. More than ever before, the keyboards and guitars work in near perfect tandem to create this lush atmosphere of wondrous majesty, akin to standing in a field at night and looking at the sky, with the pianos and strings complimenting the chords and lead lines behind Mikko Kotamaki's increased use of clean singing, which fits the music like a glove. His growl is still used throughout, and aside from the lead guitar lines is the most Swallow the Sun thing about this album, but it's only sporadically used, and some songs completely eschew growls in their entirety, such as "The Crimson Crown" and "Never Left". He's accompanied by harmonies and occasional lead vocals by keyboardist Jaani Peuhu, a welcome addition to the group who I hope gets to showcase his lush vocal tones more on future releases.
The songs are also the slowest the band have ever penned, aside from the Despair disc on Songs from the North, which is similarly sensible when you look at the album as being Swallow the Sun viewed through the eyes of Trees of Eternity. I'd wager to say that Despair was also something of an influence on the more downtrodden nature of this record, although nothing on When a Shadow... approaches that record's funeral doom experiment in terms of crushing slowness. The drumming here is still involved and full of flair, a common thread on every StS record from the very start, although Juuso Raatikainen is a bit more restrained than he was on Songs from the North's Gloom disc, which I'm sure is a symptom of the music being much less melodeath and more ethereal, kinda shoegazy doom metal. Still, while double bass is a rare thing to behold here and blast beats are nonexistent, he still shows character and exceptional skill in his playing, and that's more than acceptable for this collection of songs. The production quality stands up as the best of the band's career, with every element perfectly leveled and with just the right amount of effects to enhance, but not overpower, the experience. StS have always had exceptionally great sounding albums, with not a single one of their records except *maybe* New Moon sounding less than excellent, but this one takes the cake. One of my hopes for this record is that it becomes a blueprint for how death/doom records should be mixed in the future, as this is just about the most perfect sounding doom record of its kind I can think of. It's the logical production conclusion to not just where Swallow the Sun started on The Morning Never Came, but also the logical conclusion for death/doom production dating back to the renowned early Peaceville Three records of My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and Anathema. Every future Swallow the Sun record could be produced identical to this one and I'd be completely satisfied with that, especially since I'd love to see how this more spacious, massive production style works with a more standard sounding record they would potentially make in the future.
There's an existential question that exists in the heart of When a Shadow is Forced into the Light, and it's a question that's simultaneously quite simple, yet intensely difficult to even think of in the moment, and very relatable for anyone who has gone through a deep personal tragedy as Raivio has in the death of Aleah: How difficult will it be to move on? The attempt on his part to answer that question is the driving force behind When a Shadow..., and through the music we learn the answer to his plight. Moving on from your partner's untimely death is really, really difficult, and a seemingly insurmountable task at times, but it is entirely possible to begin to rebuild your future minus the presence of that which you were certain you'd have by your side forever. It's a scenario millions and millions of people throughout time have had to go through, and millions more will ask in the future. People die. It is a fact of reality. It happens every single day, hundreds of thousands of times a day. Who dies is up to the universe, and sometimes that person that dies is someone you love. That cannot be changed no matter how much we may want to go back in time and prevent it from happening. What matters beyond that is how one can regroup and make peace with what happened. For Juha Raivio, if When a Shadow is Forced into the Light is any indication, I hope he has found the peace he so clearly, desperately desired and can begin to move on, even if it's just through minor steps at first. This record was the apparent first step in his recovery. Where he and Swallow the Sun will go in the future is not musically certain, but what is for sure in this moment is that When a Shadow is Forced into the Light is the absolute triumph of Swallow the Sun and Raivio's careers, and topping this monumental, breathtaking record will be the steepest hill possible to climb. I have full confidence he can do it.
