Search - Edge of Sanity :: Purgatory Afterglow [Import]

Stunning Death Metal

ka0z | Forest Hills, NY | 08/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, Purgatory Afterglow is second on my list of best EoS releases, first being Crimson of course. This is in all ways perfect album, anyway you look at it. The first track, "Twighlight" is possibly one of the best melodic death metal songs ever written. "Blood Colored" could be considered as death rock and roll, and Swano started experimenting with clean vocals more on "Black Tears", not to mention it has one of the best/catchy riffs ever. "Elegy" has great lyrics, and "Of Darksome Origin" is just great, very evil. In short, this album is sweet, do yourself a favor, if you're into melodic DM, heard previous Swano efforts, you can't miss with Purgatory Afterglow. It's one of the best Swedish Melodic Death Metal 'representatives' in the field. Buy it."

Edge of Sanity: not only a melodic death metal band

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 01/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike the Gothenburg scene dominated by bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, Edge of Sanity led by Dan Swano was a band that stuck more to the roots of American death metal combining it with Swano's musical vision, which is putting as much emphasis on melody as possible. Furthermore his songwriting refuses to compromise stylistically as he was deeply influenced by 70's and 80's prog rock (speaking of which, his solo album Moontower is possibly his greatest work to date). Dan's indepedent-minded approach to creating original compositions along with cerebral lyrics suggest that Edge of Sanity was definitely a much better band compared to their contemporaries. It's a shame they went unnoticed by many death metal fans until their masterpiece Crimson which unfortunately was written when the band members were on bad terms with each other. This eventually would led to Dan's departure in 1997 and we wouldn't hear another EOS album featuring him on vocals for more than five years.Back to Purgatory Afterglow... I consider this one a perfect transition album from the band's older American death metal style to their more prog-driven motives. Musically this album shows a lot of potential growth and maturity in the way that it balances power, anger, lyrical depth, and musical complexity almost perfectly. Considering that Dan was only 21 when he wrote this album, this is a great piece of work. The sharp intelligence, clear vision, and genuine warmth in every song on this album proves that Purgatory Afterglow is a sadly overlooked offering from one of the most underrated (yet amazing) death metal bands ever. Also feel free to check out my more in-depth review for this album on Amazon [Purgatory Afterglow]."

The peak of Edge of Sanity's career!

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 12/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Purgatory Afterglow is Edge of Sanity's fourth album after The Spectral Sorrows. It is when the band started to push the form of death metal by constantly trying to be innovative, experimental, and progressive. That is what set them apart from all the other contemporaries. Unfortunately they were always overshadowed by other Swedish acts, most of whom, in my opinion, were no where near as talented as EOS. Purgatory Afterglow marks the highpoint of the band's career. Crimson, the 40-minute one-song album, was the excellent follow-up to it and proved that EOS would become one of the most important, daring, and innovative death metal bands of the 90's! The two key elements, which are common characteristics of the band's mastermind Dan Swano, are real death metal riffs mixed up with strong and solid melodies. The riffs, as opposed to their first three albums, are more sublime riffs, but Swano carefully injects the strongest melodies into each and every second creating his unique death metal sound. This is not what so many people tend to call Gothenburg or anything. This is the purest form of DEATH METAL with unforgettable melodies, killer guitar riffs, heavy bass rhythms and pounding drum beats! Not to mention Dan Swano's vocals of course. He is without a doubt one of my favourite growlers ever! I think what I love about this disc so much is the pure, honest emotion in Dan's voice, in addition to the dark and complex yet very melodic atmosphere of the music. Dan Swano has such a broad musical vision and truly embraces so many different styles. He is progressive simply in a much different way than most progressive purists would think qualifies as fitting to the concept and ideals of what "progressive" music should sound like. One thing no one would deny is that Edge of Sanity has showed a lot of growth and a clear evolution from album to album always trying to cover new ground, and never repeating themselves. EOS has been more progressive in terms of what the word means today--playing fast, technical, crazy time changes, etc. Not that Dan isn't capable of it. He would prove that as well on his solo album Moontower four years after Purgatory Afterglow. (Moontower is still one of my favourite albums of all time by any band.)"Twilight" is the first and longest song of the album which kicks in with an atmospheric keyboard intro shocking you there for a moment. Considering that their first three albums were much more straight-forward you're speechless for a moment. But then the speedy thrash runs with powerful riffs begin to set the mood and Dan's aggressive yet melodic death grunts allow you to sit back and enjoy the content of this disc. Riffs. Melodies. Grunts. Riffs. Melodies. Grunts. Fiery drumming kicking in and taking a break. Wow! There's no real chorus but the song manages to stick in your mind: memorable. This thing has the trademark EOS feel all over it. That's the vibe I get whenever I play their stuff with their classic line-up consisting of Dan, Dread, Sami, and Anders. "Of Darksome Origin" continues this vibe all the way: intricate guitar work, powerful riffs, melodic passages, cerebral lyrics, and again indescribable vocals from Dan. There's also some quite unusual stuff available on this album; for example the song "Black Tears" is the band's first ever song with all clean vocals. It is also a song that shifts the band's focus on the music, with Dan just intervening with short vocal harmonies when necessary during the chorus. Not my personal favourite but a much welcome change if you ask me. One of my favourite tracks on this CD has got to be "Velvet Dreams", it is a song where EOS achieved musical perfection. Dan plays with the words on this one, and the chorus is simply incredible! I love the articulation Dan puts behind his singing. Very metal yet also very emotional. His shifting from death to clean vocals and vice versa gives this album some depth that only few others have achieved. It was on The Spectral Sorrows when Dan first used his clean vocals, but Purgatory Afterglow and Crimson were when his singing became a trademark sound for EOS. The clean and death vocals provide a great balance and make the songs flow better. "Elegy" is one of the songs that displays the band's more direct style, which is a relatively easier song to digest. Purgatory Afterglow isn't about surprising the listener only. It offers everything an open-minded death metal fan might be looking for. "Song of Sirens" is perhaps doesn't live up to the high standards compared to the rest of the tracks here, because it doesn't really seem like it was meant to be a "song" in the first place. It features some unusual atmospheric sounds with sporadic vocals from Dan and some more experimental stuff. This is actually the last song on the CD but the album continues playing for another 10 tracks all lasting merely 2 seconds with complete silence. Another hint that EOS wasn't just a death metal band, they were so much more than that. Too bad not many people understood the aesthetics of their art. Recommended."