In Mourning - The Immortal

Angry Metal Guy

Swedish sadboi staples In Mourning have had quite the journey over the 25 years since their founding. From the early days of doom-laden, gothic-tinged pall to the current era of dramatic, crooning melodic death, In Mourning’s trajectory arcs over one of the more unsung careers in a world filled with Insomniums, Be’lakors, and Omnium Gatherums. Yet, theirs is the one that stuck with me. I witnessed the majesty of Monolith as a breakout high-water mark, the uncertainty of transitional records like Afterglow, and the resurgence of Garden of Storms followed by an absolute triumph in The Bleeding Veil. And through it all, In Mourning always delivered material of rich depth, considerable nuance, and highly developed songwriting. Their seventh, The Immortal, is no exception.

Immediately identifiable as an In Mourning special, The Immortal sees these Swedes expanding and elevating their repertoire of sound and style further than ever, but still grounding themselves in the chunky riffs, multifaceted vocals, and soaring melodies I’ve come to expect. Integrating a mild proggy slant that reminds of The Meaning of I-era Voyager (“Song of the Cranes,” “The Sojourner”); scorching the flesh with second-wave black metal melodies that recall …and Oceans and Mare Cognitum (“Staghorn” and “The Hounding,” respectively); and utilizing a wide gamut of rhythms and percussive patterns pulling from all over the metallic spectrum¹ mark a few key ways In Mourning play with this more varied palette, and to great effect. Pulling it all together, The Immortal’s crisp and clear mix showcases every performance, spotlights each vibrant tone and stimulating texture, and deftly balances soft ruminations against ferocious outbursts.

The Immortal by In Mourning

To my great delight, In Mourning’s best compositions here are those which challenge what I expect to experience. In particular, “As Long as the Twilight Stays” and “Staghorn” elicit intense frisson in my system as I cycle through each spin. In the former’s case, it is the chorus’ tremolo melody tumbling to the foreground from a wonderfully smooth percussive fill that lights up my skin. In the latter, the shock of an aggressive old-school black metal riff surprises me with a most enticing burst of velocity. Yet, each song offers much more than just a single moment of radiating pleasure. Smartly written, honed compositions like those aforementioned highlights writhe between shapes and styles in such a way as to create excitement and intrigue at every turn. Other contenders like “Silver Crescent,” “The Sojourner,” and “North Star” offer reminders of what In Mourning always excelled at, balancing syncopated riffs with weeping guitar melodies and clean vocals that evoke a synesthetic vision of sepia-toned fields of wheat brushing against a gentle breeze. More importantly, though, the effectiveness of these cuts illuminates how successfully closer “The Hounding” compiles all of In Mourning’s strengths, both proven and newfound, into a shimmering tearjerker that demands my rapt attention.

At a tight 47 minutes, The Immortal flies by with an effortless grace, leaving very little opportunity for me to capture and identify negatives. With persistence, however, I started noticing that gentle quasi-ballad quasi-interlude “Moonless Sky” is the only number that leaves my memory all too quickly. It’s gorgeous, just like everything The Immortal exhibits, but simply lacks staying power. In a similar vein, I call into question the function of opening intro “The Immortal.” It’s so short and blends so seamlessly into first track proper, “Silver Crescent,” that I wonder why the two aren’t merged into one. To reach for another nit to pick, “Song of the Cranes,” while a rock-solid song on its own, does feel less inspired and more in line with the majority of In Mourning’s existing catalog than its neighbors. It’s not so stark an outlier that it feels out of place in the tracklist. Rather, it simply feels a touch weaker by comparison.

With The Immortal, In Mourning further solidify their status as an elite act in the melodeath pantheon. It is well known to the readers and writers here that they have become my personal favorite in this particular subset, but I was still pleasantly surprised. A modest, but notable departure from their usual approach, and still unquestionably rooted in their established identity, The Immortal is on par with In Mourning’s best work. You owe it to yourselves to hear it.

Rating: Great!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Supreme Chaos Records
Websites: inmourning.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/inmourningband
Releases Worldwide: August 29th, 2025

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