Didn’t you ever have one of those bands that everyone you ever met was like, “Holy shit, you need to hear this immediately!” and you just didn’t give a damn? Well, for me, Finland‘s now-defunct Reverend Bizarre is one of those bands. Any time I’ve had a conversation with either friends who know who they are, dudes at shows or anyone else about them, it’s always been how amazing they are, this and that, blah blah blah, changing the world, best doom since Vitus, so on and so forth. I mean, come on. They put out an EP dedicated to Christina Ricci and called it The Goddess of Doom! That’s gotta count for something, right? Meh.

So along the way I’ve periodically picked up Reverend Bizarre albums and tried to convince myself of their ass-kickery (because don’t we all just want to fit in?). I’d put on 2005’s II: Crush the Insects, for example, and be like, “Yeah, this is pretty killer, alright,” and then back onto the shelf it went and was forgotten almost as soon as it was over. My life remained unchanged; the “meh” was fully in tact.

Well, when I was in London, I made another attempt by purchasing the two-disc reissue of their first full-length, 2002’s In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend. I’d been meaning to pick it up for a while and ever since the band “broke up” in 2007 (they’ve had eight releases since then), I’ve had it in the back of my head that I should get these records while I still can, so there it was, there I was and there we were. Only yesterday did I finally convince myself to listen to it.

Maybe I just don’t like being force fed bands. I don’t know.

Anyway, after listening to In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend — plus points for the King Crimson reference — I’m still not a convert to their cult, but at least I get why someone would be. Songs regularly in the 10-plus-minute range, slow, mournful, doomier-than-thou. I can see where the backpatch-on-denim crowd (nothing against them; those are good people) could get down with it, and maybe in the right mood I could too, but there’s still that “meh” element that doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. Maybe I’ll feel differently about the third record, which I’m sure I’ll pick up eventually, either because I actually want to hear it or because I’m a sucker. Maybe that’ll be the one that finally gets me to their altar.

The progression Finland?s Swallow the Sun have taken over the course of their now-four full-lengths seems to be one of abandoning many of the lush flourishes their songs contained in their earlier work — keeping the melody — in favor of tighter songwriting and more straightforward songs. Their last album, 2007?s Hope, was a leap in this direction from 2005?s Ghosts of Loss (they apparently like to work on the evens; see you in 2011, boys), and the latest output from the Jyv?skyl? six-pack, New Moon (Spinefarm), confirms the shift that seemed so sudden last time around.

Of course, there are still melodic/melancholic/melodancholic parts. It wouldn?t be Swallow the Sun without them, but as heard on opener ?These Woods Breathe Evil,? it?s much more about the structure of the song, and in this case the catchy chorus, than trading off between heaviness and atmospheric. The atmospheres have become part of the songs, to put it another way. We hear that in the Katatonia-esque ?Falling World,? and later in the title track, where vocalist Mikko Kotam?ki gives what might be his most accomplished performance yet, showing a melodic range and dynamism with his deathly growls that only speaks to the growth he?s undergone as a performer since the band started out.

What?s happening more than anything else on New Moon is that Swallow the Sun are coming into their own. They?ve toured Europe and the US, they?ve been around the world, they?re coming up on their first decade as a band, and they?re in a position where more and more people know who they are. For melodic death/doom, they might be the top name out of Europe today that hasn?t already been around for 20 years. Are they this generation?s My Dying Bride? Maybe, if you take away some of the gothic drama and consider the fact that while the seminal UK doom act had a full scene supporting them, with bands like Paradise Lost, Katatonia and Anathema to accompany, Swallow the Sun are pretty much doing this with zero companionship on their level. In a way, that makes it all the more admirable.

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This probably could just as easily have come from the PR wire, but I’m not cool enough to be on Spinefarm‘s list, so I got it from Blabbermouth that Finland‘s top melo-doomers Swallow the Sun have put up the new song, “Falling World” from their forthcoming fourth album, New Moon, on their MySpace. If you haven’t heard it yet, the track “These Woods Breathe Evil” is new too.

“Falling World,” a brand new song from Finnish doom metallers Swallow the Sun, is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace page. The track comes off the group’s fifth (sic) album, New Moon, which is scheduled for release on November 10 via Spinefarm Records. The CD was recorded at Fascination Street studios in ?rebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with such acts as Katatonia, Opeth, Paradise Lost and Amon Amarth. Kai Hahto (Wintersun, ex-Rotten Sound) has been recruited to play drums on the album following the recent departure of longtime skinsman Pasi Pasanen.

New Moon track listing:
01. These Woods Breathe Evil
02. Falling World
03. Sleepless Swans
04. And Heavens Cried Blood
05. Lights on the Lake (Horror Pt. III)
06. New Moon
07. Servant of Sorrow
08. Weight of the Dead