���� A bunch of older titles from Swedish prog-death favorites Edge Of Sanity are back in print on vinyl, in new re-mastered colored vinyl editions with printed inner-sleeves; they look and sound terrific, and we've picked up three of them so far, 1992's Unorthodox, 1993's The Spectral Sorrows, and 1994's Purgatory Afterglow.

���� As much as I love the entire Edge Of Sanity catalog, gun to my head, I'd probably pick the band's 1993 album The Spectral Sorrows as my favorite of the bunch. It's a classic slab of melodic Swedish death metal with some spectacular hooks, but it also saw the band getting even more stylistically experimental. Spectral manages to be both offbeat and highly listenable; these guys were crafting some really solid songs by this point, combining powerful melodies with their chainsaw riffage that foreshadowed the likes of In Flames and Soilwork. But band leader Dan Swano and crew were also incorporating their interests in prog, goth rock and psychedelia into their songwriting, which made for some interesting results. You get lots of seriously heavy death metal, songs like "Lost" and "Dark Day" delivering eerie intros, churning downtuned violence and somber melodies. Swano is singing more as well, his clear, baritone voice appearing more frequently amid the more standard guttural roars. The songs are more complex, sludgy chromatic grooves colliding with washes of spacey synth, vicious blasting tempos suddenly bursting from killer death n' roll hooks, and acoustic guitars and violins accompany the band into stretches of proggy, almost Opeth-esque majesty. Even when they break into a cover of Manowar's "Blood Of My Enemies" midway through, it feels of a piece with the rest of the album. It's a ll very infectious, the dark death metal broken up with passages of ethereal guitar and traces of folky melody, but it can also get quite weird, such as when the anthemic "Jesus Cries" breaks down into horrific dissonance and shrieking chaos at the end.

���� And then there's "Sacrificed". From out of nowhere around halfway through the second side, Edge Of Sanity suddenly launch into this insanely catchy, monstrously propulsive goth rock anthem that sounds like a burlier, tougher version of Jim Steinman-era Sisters Of Mercy, with Swano even delivering his vocals in a deep, Eldritch-esque croon. It fucking rules, and somehow fits in perfectly with all of the crushing death metal.

���� And on it goes, lacing that catchy death metal awesomeness with bits of moody piano and martial drumming, swoonsome vocal harmonies, strange Sabbathy sludge-a-thons, fist-pumping hard rock hooks, blasts of hardcore punk, all woven seamlessly with their pummeling heaviness. And it closes with yet another curveball, a New Agey instrumental electronic piece that sends gorgeous synth strings and glimmering melodies and delicate acoustic guitar sweeping across the final moments of Sorrows like a particularly pensive Vangelis piece, a strange but perfect finale to the album's dark, otherworldly journey....

���� Definitely my fave album of theirs - it's the one that I usually turn to when playing Edge Of Sanity to someone who hasn't heard them yet. If you're into the more offbeat and adventurous side of old-school death metal, this is absolutely a must-hear. Features some great Dan Seagrave artwork as well.