Album Review | Svartanatt – Last Days On Earth

Svartanatt
Last Days On Earth
Label: The Sign Records
Out: November 3^rd, 2023
Playing time: 45:37

Svartanatt is a Swedish Rock band formed in 2014 by Jani Lehtinen (vocals & guitar), Daniel Heaster (drums), Felix Gåsste (guitar) and Mattias Holmström (bass). Only the bass player is no longer part of the band. In addition, the Swedes now have a keyboardist in their ranks. After the self-titled debut (2016) as well as the follow-up “Starry Eagle Eyes” (2018), “Last Days On Earth” is the band’s third studio album, completed after a five-year break.

There’s a lot of doom and gloom on this album, at least in the lyrics.

That’s the musicians’ statement. Let’s take a listen and see how this affects the sound.

“Demons In The Night” starts with frying guitars. Later, the use of the Hammond takes us back in time to the seventies, while the choruses are in the best AOR tradition. “Mad Stranger” is straightforward Rock. And the song also scores with a great guitar solo at the end. Variety is still very important. Uriah Heep and Southern Rock meet in “The Crows”. And that fits together very well. In “Child Of The Devil” the guitars and drums gallop ahead. And drive the singer to top performance. “Keep On Movin” sets a small point of rest. Not a ballad but a midtempo rocker with very melodic guitar parts. The singer also rests. It continues quietly with the power ballad “Children Of The Sun”. The tempo picks up again with the Rock hymn “I’m Ready”. And the Hammond wobbles. “Time Is On Your Side” is again more contemplative, with a melancholic mood. “Texas Dance” is a little reminiscent of the good old Doors, especially thanks to the expressive keyboard passages and the guitar fragments that always get right to the point. “What You Want” starts like a typical Blues song. Later it develops into straightforward Rock, with very good guitar work. The icing on the cake here is also the Hammond. And the once again great guitar solo. In the final song, “Where I Belong”, they once again review all their musical influences. Oh, and a new splash of colour is added. A trumpet solo at the end. You don’t hear that too often in this genre.

“Last Days On Earth” convinces with a modern and powerful production. The individual instruments are accentuated. Of course, this only works because the musicians are masters of their instruments. The many different styles in the individual songs are assembled into an organic unity. It’s only the album cover that I can’t really like. But musically the album is great!

Lineup:

Jani Lehtinen – Vocals, Guitar
Felix Gåsste – Guitar
Anton Fors – Bass, Background Vocals
Martin Borgh – Organ, Keyboards
Daniel Heaster – Drums, Percussion

Track list:

• Demons In The Night
• Mad Stranger
• The Crows
• Child Of The Devil
• Keep On Movin
• Children Of The Sun
• I’m Ready
• Time Is On Your Side
• Texas Dance
• What You Want
• Where I Belong