Dark Suns - Everchild (2016)

Sorpresita para navidad. El estilo de la banda ha cambiado una vez más, cosa que no es inusual en Dark Suns. La creativa banda alemana aparece nuevamente luego del fabuloso "Orange" mezclando el euro-jazz, el progresivo, pequeños destellos de metal y avant-garde y toneladas de melodías cautivantes, y aquí lo reseñamos. Un disco que me encanta, para algunos sublime y para otros no tanto, pero siempre arriesgado, sorpresivo, temerario. Algo que llama la atención es cómo algunas bandas son capaces de arriesgarse al poner la creatividad por encima de cualquier "obligación" de mantener un cierto sonido (recordemos a Haken, Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Opeth y muchos otros), aún a riesgo de perder a su público, que tanto costó cosechar. Un disco extremadamente recomendable y sorprendente.

Artista: Dark Suns

Álbum: Everchild
Año: 2016
Género: Progresivo ecléctico / Rock progresivo / Post Metal
Duración: 71:15
Nacionalidad: Alemania

Lista de Temas:
01. The Only Young Ones Left
02. Spiders
03. Escape With The Sun
04. Monster
05. Codes
06. The Fountain Garden
07. Unfinished People
08. Everchild
09. Torn Wings
10. Morning Rain
CD2:
01. Yes, Anastasia

Alineación:
- Niko Knappe / Vocals
- Maik Knappe / Guitars
- Torsten Wenzel / Guitars
- Ekkehard Meister / Piano, Organ
- Dominique Ehlert / Drums
- Jacob Müller / Bass
- Evgeny Ring / Sax
- Govinda Abbott / Trumpet

Trascendiendo el metal progresivo, los alemanes se lanzan con un disco en lo que podemos llamar la fusión del metal progresivo. No tienen problemas en mezclar diferentes géneros musicales de la manera más audaz, convirtiéndose en algo mucho más complejo y difícil de definir.
La banda apostó fuerte en este trabajo, incluso en términos financieros. Utilizaron todo el dinero recibido en concepto de anticipo para cubrir el alquiler de un buen estudio en Berlín con un excelente productor, y para financiar todo el proyecto (incluida la mezcla realizada en Londres) abrieron una crowdfunding (que dice mucho también sobre la calidad y el aguante de los fans de Dark Suns) lo que permitió una producción general de primera linea.

Canciones tranquilas en muchos casos, pero siempre desgarradas pero no necesariamente duras, que muchas veces suenan sublime y hermosas, con estribillos bien logrados y con cierto gancho de pop van conformando buenas canciones que se inclinan a la reflexión y la meditación, con algún ocasional arrebato de violencia y frenetismo. Un disco van desde el metal hasta el jazz, del rock a la balada, de sonidos retro a modernos, al tiempo que propone una dinámica progresiva que impregna todo el álbum.
Desde el "Orange" dejaron atrás el post metal para adentrarse a sonidos jazzeros y retro prog, fusión que se amplía en este "Everchild". Un valiente intento poblado de melodías sombrías que sirven de base para la experimentación que convertirá a este rock gótico en un jazz fusión con resultados disímiles; a varios no les convence del todo mientras que a otros les parece alucinante (lo pueden ver en los comentarios que copio al final del post). En todo caso, es interesante que una banda tenga la valentía de experimentar a sus hanchas más allá del resultado.
Igualmente, personamente el resultado me convence, y mucho. Tenemos que tener en cuenta que esta es una banda que va evolucionado significativamente sin parar, y ahora dan de nuevo otro paso en su búsqueda inquieta. Por último, y no menos importante, es que también ha evolucionado en su alineación hasta convertirse en un octeto.

Si eres de los que confían en que se llegue a un desarme internacional y haya paz en el mundo antes de que Tool publiquen otro disco, y echas de menos a Porcupine tree, a pesar de la prolífica y sobresaliente producción de Steven Wilson en solitario, quizá puedas saciar en parte tu sed con el álbum de estos ocho alemanes, o al menos eso dejan entrever en este adelanto.
La historia de la banda se inició con una primera demo, un EP, y un largo, que podríamos encuadrar dentro del death/doom, y evolucionó hacia un metal/rock progresivo a lo largo de los tres álbumes posteriores.
El tema que nos presentan es ‘Everchild‘, adelanto homónimo de su álbum, el cual verá la luz del (oscuro) sol el 3 de Junio a través de Prophecy Productions. Esta canción es altamente disfrutable, y hace que estemos con altas expectativas de lo que nos podremos encontrar en lo que queda por descubrirse de lo grabado por Dark suns para este 2016.
A ver si dan un salto de nivel dentro de la escena y en cuanto a reconocimiento del público. El comienzo es esperanzador.

Luis Pardo

En general el disco busca un estado de ánimo bastante sombrío, pero a la vez muy agradable, esos climas jazzy que proyecta sombrías melodías que se enlanzan con guitarras ásperas, ritmos dinámicos, órganos retro, pianos jazzeros y voces cristalinas pone el tono sensible y poético con destellos del rock progresivo a lo Pink Floyd dan el marco para esta meditación poética bien orquestada, atmósferas densas en profundas piezas donde la elegancia encaja perfectamente dentro del contexto, pero con una intensidad que atrapa al oyente, mucho hechizo en sus desarrollos melódicos y líricas con patadas en el alma. Emocional, frágil, melódico, pero también con mucha garra cuando es necesario, los temas son llevados adelante por el cantante que tiene una mezcla entre Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation) y Mariusz Duda (Riverside en su faceta solista) en su interpretación emocional pero busca empecinadamente registros altos y quebradizos. Los riffs son más bien como guardados en algodón, pero concisos: las guitarras siguen presentes, pero ya dejaron de sonar demasiado cercanas al metal. Las líneas de bajo son melódicas y nítidas que crean sorprendentes líneas de las pistas más lentas, mientras que la batería trabaja de manera variable, poderosa por momentos y sutil en las secciones más tranquilas, todo inmerso en una espesa alfombra de teclados que se convirtió en parte escencial del sonido de la banda, mucho Hammond, con un sonido que va desde los teclados de los setenetas hasta la sintetización del rock moderno (es que en este caso no están tan enfocados en el sonido "retro" y muchas veces suenan bien modernos, como en el caso de "Unfinished People"), sumada al uso creciente de los dos miembros que habían colaborado en "Orange" llevando adelante los vientos, ahora convertidos en miembros activos de la banda, y que intervienen en la transfiguración de su sonido, encabezando la avanzada del cambio hacia los elementos de jazz.
Si bien "Spiders" me parece una canción que se acerca al estilo de Porcupine Tree, en términos jazzeros, la banda manifiesta en toda su sensibilidad en "Monster", canción lenta, melodiosa y muy bien hecha, guiada por acordes de guitarra, piano y trompetas jazzy y dúo de voces masctulina - femenina. La ya mencionada "Unfinished People" tiene tanto el lado más oscuro de la banda pero también es un desarrollo de sonido mucho más moderno, podemos mencionar también la belleza simple de la balada "The Fountain Garden" a las supercativantes melodías de "Torn Wings" (muy a tono con el sonido del último Riverside) y el poderoso coro de "Everchild" que sacian al menos en parte el deseo de guitarras pesadas del oyente. Las dos últimas pistas, ambos con más de 10 minutos de duración, hacen una gran final digno de los mejores discos del estilo, a través de bandas como Tool, Pain Of Salvation, Dream Theater y Opeth, y sin olvidar esa banda alemana que trazó antes que ninguna otra el camino de variación del metal prog hacia el rock progresivo de sonidos cristalinos y delicados: Sieges Even. El sonido sofisticade que crea un puente entre el metal, el rock, la vanguardia progresiva y la fusión en una amalgama de sonidos que intentan crear un algo novedoso desde la diversidad de referencias. Como adicional, hay un CD extra en el que hay un cover de un tema de Tori Amos es "Yes, Anastasia", en una interpretación del Dark Suns con una intensidad entusiasta.

Cerrando mi comentario, el disco entero me gusta mucho, pero también es cierto que es algo desparejo, el álbum tiene algunos momentos verdaderamente brillantes, pero creo que alguna canción está de más y si no estuviera elevaría el nivel general muchísimo. El efecto del álbum está en realidad fuertemente ligada a su estado de ánimo que provoca, mucha emotividad, bello pero densamente oscuro y melancólico. "Everchild" es menos esquizofrénico que su predecesor, lo encuentro igual de vanguardista pero más consolidado en su sonido, con más equilibrio entre el peso, intensidad, la melancolía, la experimentación los cambios progresivos, unidos por grandes armonías y uso de melodías expresivas, en esta ocasión la banda casi dejó de lado sus habilidades instrumentales para abocarse en su búsqueda de estilo, llenando más de 70 minutos de buena música, que convierten a "Everchild" en uno de los mejores álbumes de este 2016 y quizás el trabajo más fino jamás creada por Dark Suns hasta el momento. Les recomiendo mucho este álbum, y para confirmarlo les dejo varios videos para que lo vayan escuchando de antemano.

 

Ahora, algunos comentarios en inglés. Y noten que hay bastantes disidencias entre los distintos autores...

German art rockers Dark Suns are interesting which is really important to me when it comes to doing reviews. Horns! Not many bands have a full horn section, certainly not when it comes to performing art rock. I suppose Chicago comes to mind and no, not the shitty ballad machine of the ’80s. Dark Suns aren’t like them anyway. Imagine a modern prog band that uses horns no different than a guitar or keyboards.
The horns are definitely lead instruments like on the opener “The Only Young Ones Left” or the awesome second track “Spiders.” But they are barely found on the epic track “Morning Rain.” The real key to the success of Dark Suns lies with the band using all of its talents. Singer Niko Knappe is a huge part of that talent. His vocals range from a quiet Hogarthian whisper to a husky bellow that reminds me of John Hiatt of all people! It works! Besides I happen to love John Hiatt.
“Everchild” is interesting because the album gets more daring and more progressive as it goes along. The title track slinks along with a Tool-like rhythm but has a blistering chorus that Tool would never dare. Speaking of daring, the closing track is a cover of the Tori Amos song “Yes, Anastasia” which the band very much make their own!
There’s not a weak track to be found on this album. “Everchild” is a breath of fresh air for me. A band that are very musical and very diverse in their approach. They write really good songs, arrange them well and the performance is superb. I should also mention the sound of the production on the album by Peter Junge is phenomenal. If you like challenging art rock that isn’t afraid to take risks, “Everchild” is more than a worthwhile journey to take with Dark Suns as your guides.
Rating: 9/10

progmanrob

German Progressive Outfit Meets Perfection with Everchild
Germany’s Dark Suns returns with a double LP of delightfully dark progressive rock that takes inspiration from the classics (Yes, King Crimson) while advancing the state of the art. The collective’s metal roots remain evident in the music’s epic nature, but the palette has expanded to include elements of Euro jazz and the avant-garde.
The jazz flourishes are evident from the start. Opener “The Only Young Ones Left” kicks with horn-y excitement thanks to Evgeny Ring (sax) and Govinda Abbott (trumpet), while keyboardist Ekkehard Meister sneaks in Steely Dan-esque flourishes that’ll have you blowing smoke rings and reaching for that glass with three fingers of scotch. Those instruments share sonic space with guitarists Torsten Wenzel and Maik Knappe, who create intricate, weighty passages that are often disquieting but always moving. “Spiders” allows many of these intricacies to shine as the group channels Jaga Jazzist, Porcupine Tree, and even bits and bobs of Frank Zappa.
The trail of influences doesn’t matter much in the face of the musicianship displayed across those tunes or the 10-minute “Morning Rain”. The record’s penultimate track, “Morning Rain” beautifully ties together the various arrows this group has in its quiver: Save for its length, there are tendencies here that align quite perfectly with pop; save for its predilection for pop, it’s a perfect progressive masterpiece. The intricacies of Niko Knappe’s drumming are fascinating throughout but here take on new subtlety and nuance beside Meister’s jaw-dropping maneuvers on the black and whites. It’s a perfect enough distillation that one is inclined to suggest that releasing it as a stand-alone track would summarize, quite eloquently, the full majesty of the band. If Dark Suns never recorded another note, this piece would certainly suffice.
Naturally, there are other things to love here, including the melancholy and meditative “Monster” with its Floydian flourishes and aching, haunting horn passages. “Codes”, with its crushing riffs and teeth-gnashing rhythms, offers not only a dynamic edge but a reminder of the collective’s origins even as “The Fountain Garden” and “Torn Wings” drift about as far from metal as one could imagine.
None of that is eclecticism for eclecticism’s sake. The parts move and fit quite perfectly, making for a journey that carries the listener seamlessly from one shore to another. Certainly one might read the cover of Tori Amos’s “Yes, Anastasia” as an unnecessary reach. But that’s unfair because it’s ultimately the perfect choice for inclusion, the kind of song that traverses the same distances that Dark Suns can travel in the 10 other pieces.
This is a long record. It plays out over the course of more than 80 minutes but, remarkably, not one second is wasted. There are no excesses here, and the measures move seamlessly one to another as the listener becomes immersed in the magical landscape the group (rounded out by bassist Jacob Müller) has so carefully created.
Is it hyperbole to say that Everchild sets a new standard for progressive rock? Only if one doesn’t recognize the perfection evident here.

Jedd Beaudoin

The evolution of a band can be a compelling tale, or it can be a train wreck. In the former category, we have Opeth (death metal kings to natty 70s prog worshippers) and Anathema (middling doom metal to dreamy, proggy house band at the Hallmark card factory). In the latter, Queensryche (well, Geoff Tate in particular, who went from legendary prog metal frontman to weirdo). Dark Suns has been evolving too, and they hope to fit in with the former acts.
Much like the band they clearly admire (Opeth), Dark Suns began life as a death metal band, with some doomy overtones. It didn’t take long for them to want to push beyond those limits, and by their fourth album, 2011’s Orange, the death growls were gone, along with most of the aggression, replaced with a bent towards vintage prog rock. On Everchild, Dark Suns’ fifth album, the edge has been completely blunted. If Anathema is the house band at Hallmark, Dark Suns can now be their warmup act.
Everchild is a lengthy, dreamy, prog rock record. Eleven songs while away more than eighty minutes of our time – not a bad thing, if one is looking for something whimsical and pleasant to play in the background. It opens with “The Only Young Ones Left,” which happens to be one of the harder-hitting tracks present, sounding like it would fit on the B-side of a Lightbulb Sun-era Porcupine Tree release. Harder-hitting, yes, but just as we are rocking away we are greeted with the horn section, which causes the song to careen back and forth from rocker to jazz lounge number. Unsettling yet intriguing, which could sum up the entire record.
Musically, Dark Suns is all over the map here, going from complete lounge lizards on “Monsters” to complex, heavy-yet-proggy on “Codes.” “Unfinished People” has a definite Peter Gabriel feel to it, with a syncopated, industrial beat and chanted backing vocals. Too often, though, we are presented with piano-driven fare that plods along, arrangements not building to anything one might expect from a prog act with the exception of the insane jazz riffing late in “Torn Wings.”
Over the years, Dark Suns’ ranks have swelled. The band is now eight members strong, including the aforementioned horn section, who are now full time members. Former drummer and founder Niko Knappe has stepped away from the kit to focus exclusively on vocals. His style ranges from a rough, unpolished hard rock tone to airy murmurs. On Everchild, the murmurs account for 90% of the vocals, lending the record its dreamlike quality. Capping Everchild off is a rather unusual cover, a lengthier-than-the-original version of Tori Amos’s already long song, “Yes, Anastasia.” Like most of the record, it’s odd and interesting, especially considering that on the CD release “Yes, Anastasia” is on its own second disc [We love double albums here at AMG! – Steel Druhm].
Production fits the mood to a T – light, airy, with a lot of room for all the instruments to contribute to the musical canvas. It can be difficult to give eight musicians the space they need to be heard, but the mix here is just right, allowing the listener to focus on any given instrument with no effort. The music is layered and complex. On first listen, Everchild comes across as almost so dreamy to be boring, but dig deeper and there is a lot going on in these songs.
Everchild isn’t going to elevate Dark Suns into the ranks of Opeth or Anathema; the songwriting chops just aren’t there yet. It’s also not going to have you forcing it down your friends’ throats, proclaiming it the greatest record ever, but it is rewarding in its own way if you are patient enough to give it a few listens. Knappe’s murmured falsetto can get on your nerves after a while, but this is a quality effort from a skilled band, and shows they have the potential to create something special if they can focus their efforts in a more cohesive direction.

Huck N Roll

German progressive band Dark Suns certainly aren’t a household name, but over the past decade and change and over five albums they’ve managed to carve a solid niche for themselves in the space of dark, moody rock with heavy influences from the bygone era of classic 70s progressive groups. Their first three albums are worth a listen to those who are already sizable fans of the genre, but probably not too much more. It was on their previous album, 2011’s Orange, though, where the band showed signs of breaking out and pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones towards something much greater. That album was bright, fiercely eclectic, and downright brilliant at times, mixing the band’s mastery of elongated, proggy songforms with mathy rhythms, tightly-wound psych-rock jams, and the occasional jazz flourish. The band added horns for the first time, employing sax and trumpet liberally throughout to up the ante on counter-rhythms or elevate hooks even higher.
Five years later, and the band have returned with their longest album yet, Everchild, which sits pretty at a daunting 81 minutes over 11 tracks. Those horn players (Evgeny Ring on sax and Govinda Abbott on trumpet) are now full-fledged members, and with an overall return to the darker and moodier sounds of their earlier catalogue, Dark Suns seemed intent on blending some of the experimentations of Orange within their more conventional prog framework. Thankfully for them, and us, the gambit was mostly a success, and Everchild is overall a highly enjoyable album that deserves and rewards multiple listens.
From the horn-filled opener “The Only Young Ones Left” and throughout, jazz plays a much larger role in this album than ever before. That track is a fantastic table-setter, as the band blends a cool, laid-back stoner groove with Niko Knappe’s mostly smooth falsetto vocals and surprisingly bright proggy jazz breaks. Following track “Spiders” is a more subdued and labyrinthine piece, featuring winding vocal melodies occasionally punctuated by noir-ish horn builds. The album’s closer, an epic rendition of Tori Amos‘ “Yes, Anastasia,” utilizes the horns mostly as embellishment, but it succeeds in painting a magnificent picture of its strong namesake. It’s on the ballad “Monster” though where Dark Suns truly utilize the tools at their disposal to their fullest. With the feeling and construction of an old-school jazz standard filtered through a smokey lounge haze, the piece gradually swells into a gargantuan progressive fusion machine befitting the track’s name. It’s beautiful, moving, and incredibly powerful.
Everchild is not all cerebral jazz, and there are a few tracks that are able to hit hard and play off that old-school progressive jam aesthetic to their benefit. “Escape With The Sun” alternates between a chilly desert groove befitting any of the great stoner and psych groups and a propulsive chorus that blasts off into a brief, but well-placed guitar solo and climax. “Codes” starts off similar to the prickly feel of “Spiders” but transforms into a very fun classic prog engine, jammy synths and all. The title track features a straight-up banger of a chorus, exactly the kind of fierce energy and sound you turn to this kind of music for. By blending just enough variety and ingenuity to this standard prog blueprint, Dark Suns are able to stave off most of the more egregious pitfalls that plague the genre they fit into.
Unfortunately they don’t avoid all of the most common issues, and the album is certainly not without fault. Everchild suffers from a kind of musical monotony in its back half as it settles into lengthy mid-tempo tracks that simply don’t posses the same energy or level of songwriting as the first 5 tracks. “The Fountain Garden” is fine, though at times it sounds like a bit of a re-tread of “Monster” without the jazz. “Unfinished People” starts off at a plodding pace and redeems itself once it reaches the more interesting bridge section, but it takes too long to get there. And “Torn Wings” and “Morning Rain” simply feel like unnecessary letdowns after the incredible and sharp energy of “Everchild.” One of the main qualities that made Orange such a thrill to listen to was the sheer breadth and diversity of it all, both in style and performance. Much of that was due to Knappe not sticking to any one vocal range or style throughout, even if that meant the silly, high-pitched squeals of “That Is Why They All Hate You In Hell.” Throughout almost the entirety of Everchild though he sticks to calm falsettos, a tone that is appealing and works well most of the time, but also can begin to wear on the listener after a while. Sometimes you just want to hear vocals go all-out along with the band. Restraint is not always a virtue in that sense.
The album does end on a high note though with the aforementioned cover of “Yes, Anastasia.” It is only one of two tracks that hit the 10-minute mark, but unlike the previous track, “Morning Rain,” it easily earns its runtime with a great musical narrative and compelling build throughout. It’s an excellent culmination of the aspects of Everchild that work, featuring dynamic shifts in style and energy that compliment the other and create tension that propels it towards its grandiose conclusion. When it’s firing on all cylinders, this album is an incredible piece of work that easily rivals the best material of the band’s catalog. It’s only a couple of notches short of being a truly great album, but unfortunately because most of its misfires are concentrated near the end of an already very long album, they become magnified. Nevertheless, Everchild is an exciting and thrilling collection of songs that will hopefully expose the band to a much wider audience and allow them to continue growing in ambition and scope.

Nick Cusworth

Germany’s Dark Suns created a minor classic to my ears with Swanlike in 2002. That album boasted gothic doom/death with ethereal acoustics so powerful for a debut, even Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth commented on how impressed he was with the bands ability. Eagerly, I awaited more from the band, and what came over the next decade was a metamorphosis and the talent within these lads really started show. The band basically revitalized itself on each release, leaving the death metal aspects behind, exploring much more complex progressive arrangements, and utilizing clean vocals. In 2016, Dark Suns have honed in on the concepts they have explored on past records and delivered a wonderfully melancholic prog album with Everchild.
While Orange (2011) was an “anything goes” art/rock affair, Everchild revisits styles and ideas the group handled on Existence (2005). This album is atmospheric, dark, and much more wistful than its predecessor, yet the basic method of progressive rock is still in play. One can easily hear similarities to bands like Porcupine Tree, Opeth, and Riverside. Searching for eternal childhood and yearning for the past, Everchild is a retrospective release that lingers and unfurls over many listens. Youth, innocence and reflecting on oneself are enduring themes.
Everchild flows elegantly between songs with enough diversity to keep interest. Horns can be heard (“The Only Young Ones Left” “Spiders” “Monster”) and piano/keys are littered throughout. “Escape with the Sun” is a personal favorite with a bluesy guitar riff that leads the song. A standout track for sure. There are no hard hitters on the this album but “Codes” is sonically one of the heavier songs the band has delivered in years, whilst title track “Everchild” displays darker distorted guitars in its finale. Again, nothing really “metal” on this record but a more ominous feel has been embraced much like the ambience of Existence.Each Dark Suns release has been a forward thinking venture and no album in their discography sounds the same. However, the one aspect of the band that is always prominent and lets you know you’re definitely listening to Dark Suns is the vocal stylings of Mr. Niko Knappe . Now purely focused on vocals (his former drum duties now taken by Dominique Ehlert), his voice has been strikingly diverse over their career and he is a grossly underrated singer in my opinion. His delivery has ranged from doomy death metal to falsetto over the years and his control with soft cleans is amazing. Just check out “The Fountain Garden” and “Torn Wings” for examples of how suspended he sounds in the music. Everchild effortlessly showcases how beautiful Nikos’ voice really is. Closing track “Yes, Anastasia” is a reinterpretation of a Tori Amos song that I have not heard before but nevertheless, it’s a dramatic piano driven song with a progressive flare thrown in, and again, vocally it’s amazing.
The band financed the production of Everchild via crowdfunding and the end result is one of the best albums to come out of 2016. Dark Suns truly is a progressive band and we can only imagine what their next release will sound like. Much like Opeth and Katatonia, Dark Suns is very comfortable in their evolution and arguably they may even be doing it better.

Shane Wolfensberger

German progressive metal band, Dark Suns, will release their fifth studio effort, the double album, Everchild, on June 3rd via Prophecy Productions. Recorded in Berlin's Funkhaus Studios (Europe's largest studio complex) with producer Yensin Jahn (Alice Cooper, Yo La Tengo), the album is the band's fifth full-length effort and follows 2011's Orange, which was hailed as "an album which embraces the sounds of early and vintage progressive, psychedelic, and jazz rock". In celebration of the record's release, the band premieres the new song "Spiders”, now streaming below.
“As well as being the second track on the album, “Spiders” was also the second track we wrote during the songwriting process. It resulted mainly from the idea to combine a teenage pioneering spirit with urban melancholy," says vocalist Niko Knappe. "It tells about a young person’s departure. A group of teenagers in a state of eagerness and wanderlust, waiting for a friend to set out and break away from the parental home. ‘Push the spiders downhill’ is how the lyrics end, and stands for conquering fears and overcoming obstacles. We like the playful ease of the verses and how the song merges into the stomping brass parts and chorus lines, followed by a boisterously outro part.”
A forward-thinking band that wears its influences - such as King Crimson, The Soft Machine and Still Life - proudly on its sleeve, Dark Suns formed in 1997 and, in the time since, has released four celebrated recordings, including Swanlike (2002), Existence (2005), Grave Human Genuine (2008) and 2011's aforementioned Orange, morphing from 'progressive dark metal' through to dreamlike fantastical rock, over the course of its evolution. With Everchild, Dark Suns mine the human experiences of sleep, escapism and nostalgia for subject matter, delving into the depths of these intense emotional states and pairing them with musical movements rife with exploration.
In addition to ten new retro-prog originals, the album contains a creative cover of Tori Amos' "Yes, Anastasia".

bravewords.com

Touches of pop, avant-garde, and Euro-jazz rub shoulders on latest from formerly metal-driven unit.
Germany’s Dark Suns returns with a double LP of delightfully dark progressive rock that takes inspiration from the classics (Yes, King Crimson) while advancing the state of the art. The collective’s metal roots remain evident in the music’s epic nature, but the palette has expanded to include elements of Euro jazz and the avant-garde. The jazz flourishes are evident from the start. Opener “The Only Young Ones Left” kicks with horn-y excitement thanks to Evgeny.

Jedd Beaudoin

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