A Swarm Of The Sun An Empire

Returning from time apart to a world forever changed, dread-fuelled duo A Swarm of the Sun bring with them their fourth studio album, ‘An Empire’; its brooding, yet beautiful, melancholic narrative arc allows the band to dig ever deeper into desolation whilst a newfound lyrical focus adds a tenderness that is both harrowing and heartwarming at once. Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden; Erik Nilsson and Jakob Berglund have been producing inimitable, sombre soundscapes as A Swarm of the Sun for 17 years. A series of monumental albums, 2010’s groundbreaking debut ‘Zenith’, post-metal masterpiece ‘The Rifts’ in 2015 and its breathtakingly stark follow up ‘The Woods’ in 2019 have seen the understated outfit carve out their own uncompromisingly bleak place within the international heavy scene. With the early bones of forthcoming ‘An Empire’ tabled by events beyond their control in 2019, Erik and Jakob came together years later and scrapped them in favour of creating something entirely new; something distinctly different to break the cycle, defy categorisation and reflect the uncomfortable uncertainties of the times we now live in. The result is astounding; continuing the thread of narrative composition seen on ‘The Woods’, ‘An Empire’ is a six-track tale told in four distinct movements that are nothing short of devastating, from plaintive piano ballads to raw, full-band fury. ‘An Empire’ marks a significant evolution of A Swarm of the Sun’s already indelible post-metal sound. With increasingly bleak times forcing the band to reassess their relationship with creativity and suffering, this new body of work captures all the anthemic, intimate highs and crushing, debilitating lows of modern life on a knife edge. 1. This Will End In Fire2. Heathen3. The Pyre