The Dark Delight

The Dark Delight is the second album for AFM Records, a seventh record the band itself calls its “biggest and most engrossing” yet. Self-produced with a mix by Jacob Hansen, it binds machine-gun riffs, orchestral arrangement and huge backing choruses at high density. As the band's first guest appearance, Nils Molin's Amaranthe bandmate Henrik “Gg6” Englund adds a fierce growl on “From Sound to Silence” and “Apex.” The lead single “Presence of Mind” opens the album sharply, while “Heartless Madness” and “Waterfall” combine catchiness with aggression. On “Paradise of the Architect” and “The Man and the Elements,” dramatic melody and clever construction mesh at a high level. A structure that keeps tension to the end through strong hooks and detailed arrangement, rather than leaning on speed and weight, marks a peak of modern melodic metal. Nils Molin's soaring singing runs through the whole, vividly showing the band's strength.