With their debut album ‘Nordic Gothic’, Cemetery Skyline has proven that they understand the first rule of starting a new band while the bands the members are known for are still active: make it sound different. The members of Cemetery Skyline are all primarily known for their work in extreme metal bands. Those expecting something similar from ‘Nordic Gothic’ will be surprised at the very least. The album’s title already gives a fairly good idea of what the album will sound like. This is an extremely poppy type of gothic rock, with hooks galore and massive potential crossover appeal.

For years now, I have been hoping for Mikael Stanne to record an album on which he sings clean exclusively. ‘Nordic Gothic’ is that album. His melancholic baritone, that has become increasingly prominent on Dark Tranquillity’s recent albums, carries a lot of the album’s melodic weight and accessibility, though it has to be said that ‘Nordic Gothic’ is a bit more upbeat melodically overall than anything he has done with Dark Tranquillity. The rest of the band excels at giving everyone ample space in the arrangements, and it is very obvious that the sounds of all the instruments are crafted very carefully.

Stylistically, ‘Nordic Gothic’ can be located somewhere between the goth pop of HIM and The Sisters of Mercy’s more arena rock-ish material, with occasional nods to Killing Joke’s most accessible songs and Type O Negative’s bass lines. The album is fairly frontloaded with its most poppy songs. While I understand that choice, it ultimately also is the album’s only minor flaw. The hyper-accessible opener ‘Torn Away’, the propulsive ‘In Darkness’, the awesomely melancholic ‘Violent Storm’ and the catchy ‘Behind the Lie’ are all great songs, but it would have improved the albums flow if they had been alternated with the more atmospheric material a little more.

All the atmospheric material can be found on the second half of the album. It actually starts slightly before that, with the sorrowful semi-ballad ‘When Silence Speaks’. My favorite track on the album is ‘Never Look Back’, which slowly adds layers to build towards its intense chorus. That little guitar lead Markus Vanhala does after each chorus is brilliant. The resigned melancholy of closing track ‘Alone Together’ accounts for probably the most haunting track, but even the more straightforward moments on the album’s second half – the driven ‘The Darkest Night’ and the lighter ‘Anomalie’ – aren’t quite as direct as the first four songs.

The poppy kind of gothic rock that Cemetery Skyline plays simply isn’t made very often anymore. And certainly not as good as on ‘Nordic Gothic’. It’s a surprisingly accomplished debut album by a group of experienced musicians who obviously decided on their musical direction first before gathering prominent musicians to record it. The production on ‘Nordic Gothic’ also is so obviously put together with a lot of care that this is so much more than just a haphazardly thrown together supergroup. Sure, it’s total nineties nostalgia stuff, but with songs so good that hopefully, Cemetery Skyline will have more to offer in the future.

Recommended tracks: ‘Never Look Back’, ‘In Darkness’, ‘The Darkest Night’