(Daniel Barkasi provided us the following wonderful report on the February 28 Orlando stop of Swallow the Sun‘s recently completed U.S. tour with Harakiri for the Sky, Ghost Bath, and Snakes of Russia, accompanied by the wonderful photos of Brittany Barkasi @Turn off the Thunder.)

Personally, Swallow the Sun is a band that has meant quite a bit over the years, both to myself and many friends – memories that will never fade. A good friend even made merch in the form of necklaces and keychains for this very tour, which are super high quality and wholly unique. For yours truly, ever since having my blackened heart soothed by The Morning Never Came in 2003, these Finns have been a constant in the listening rotation.

I first caught them live in September of 2007 (17-½ years ago – time is damn cruel) on what now has to be described as a dream tour, with Katatonia headlining, and Insomnium, Scar Symmetry, and Swallow the Sun supporting. Hard to imagine that tour was real, but for me and a bunch of others in the old Peabody’s (miss that place) in Cleveland, it was quite an affirming event. Since then, we’ve managed to see them a bunch of times, and when the opportunity arises, it’s one that we can’t turn down.

Adding to the allure of the melodic death/doom legends were Harakiri for the Sky, the post-black stalwarts who have eluded me for quite some time. Add to that the pummeling sounds of Ghost Bath and the dark electronics of Snakes of Russia, and we had a varied collection of fantastic acts to take in.

So off to Orlando we trekked to a usual landing spot in central Florida – the incredible Conduit – for a memorable evening of heart-wrenching musicality. Continue reading »