18. June 2025
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Media Review

Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic

Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic
4.9

Rating

 4.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great songwriting
  • Intense vocal performance
  • Many really good songs

Despite Cemetery Skyline is a brand-new international band, they already have made some 10k followers on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Not too surprisingly – there are some rather prominent names in the lineup of the quintet. On 11th October 2024, the metal band is releasing their debut album – let’s have a listen to Nordic Gothic.

 

Cemetery Skyline – About The Artists

The roots of Cemetery Skyline were already laid a couple of years ago. However, it took them until April 2024 when they released their debut single Violent Storm. The band members come from different Scandinavian countries. Vocalist Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquility) is from Gothenburg, Sweden. Markus Vanhala (guitars – Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum), Santeri Kallio (keys – Amorphis) and Vesa Ranta (drums – Sentenced) are from Finland, while Victor Brandt (bass – Dimmu Borgir) is a countryman of Stanne. All songs released so far are part of Nordic Gothic.

 

Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic – Track by Track

The ten track album lasts 49 minutes.

1. Torn Away

Half of the songs on the band’s debut have already been resort. Cemetery Skyline start with four of them on that Cemetery Skyline voyage. Mikael Stanne and his dark voice guides you through the song. The song is intense, the guitars don’t have their hardest shift, though. Especially the Torn Away chorus is very striking and leads to a very catchy listen. A great opener!

2. In Darkness

In Darkness marches in with heavy riffs and fine melodies by Santeri Kallio. Latest when the Nordics kick off for I don’t want this to be something i cannot control, the first line of the chorus, you are into enough. Like its predecessor, the song has something in stock for metalheads as well as for rock music lovers.

I don’t want this to be something i cannot control
The dark in our mind seem to take on a life of its own
With every day in an absence of light and time
I don’t want this to be
Don’t want this to be our lives
In darkness and out of control

3. Violent Storm

The third song on Nordic Gothic is Violent Storm. The song feels rather dark and is thus a perfect match to the setup of the band. Do I need to mention another great chorus? I am sure you explored that by yourself!

4. Behind The Lie

For the first time on the debut album, Cemetery Skyline present a five minute song. The song takes time for a rather extended intro, before it fully incepts. Again, the metal-alike riifs combined with the virtuous keyboard / synth sound works so well on this song.

5. When Silence Speaks

When Silence Speaks opens in a hymnic way. When Stanne is kicking off for the first words on the lyrics side, the song even has a slightly kitsch touch. With string sounds in the background, die epic listen is not really a ballad, but comes with a very emotional, but also majestic component. A great song with an amazing intensity.

What is there to say
When silence speaks in overtones
Above and below our minds
What we hear inside of the dark
We don’t want to know
These failures in our own design
And the light that is fading away
Should we listen when silence speaks?

6. The Darkest Night

After this rather slow, epic and majestic highlight, Nordic Gothic continues with The Darkest Nights. The song is very rhythmic with nice background melodies. The song rather feels like a progressive rock track than death-doom in major parts. The chorus adds some darkness to it. Damn, these guys create such a lovely, complex and fluent sound. Love it.

7. Never Look Back

Never Look Back pushes the album a bit more to the harder and rocking side again. Nonetheless, the complex melodies and sudden, but suitable breaks define the song in a lovely way. The Swedish-Finnish combo has already convinced me of their skills. Now, it is time to enjoy their sound.

8. The Coldest Heart

The Coldest Heart is the last song on the album, which has already been released. Victor Brandt has his showcase at the beginning of the track, when he is doing the intro almost by himself. Again, there are fine moments, in which the band almost sounds pop-ish, driven by the keyboard. And just a few seconds later, the guitars give their rock voice and the backing vocals growl and support their band lead. Nonetheless, it simply works out. That’s magical songwriting.

9. Anomalie

In the first second of Anomalie, industrial sounds feel like frightening steps coming towards you. And exactly, in this escape we lost each other, as Cemetery Skyline are stating at the beginning of the song. The chorus is short, but leaves a mark. However, the pre-chorus is the hidden gem of this one.

10. Together Alone

What could be a better way for a metal band to farewell their listener than with an epic song. That’s exactly what this quintet is doing and presents the 7:33 minutes epic Alone Together at the end of Nordic Gothic. Despite the rock power presented, the song has a rather intimate touch. This is due to the many comparably quiet moments of the chucker-out. Not the best song of the album, but definitely a good one.

 

Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic – My View

You have to give in that all members of Cemetery Skyline are well-established in the business. Thus, it is a debut for this collaboration, but they are all very skilled and experienced. Nonetheless, the result Nordic Gothic is amazing. Emotional moments alter quickly with powerful metal ones. And there is always a connection between the elements of the song. This 2024 release just barely misses my highest rating.

Favorite Song: Never Look Back

 

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