Post-Rock: A Swarm of the Sun

Post-Rock: A Swarm of the Sun - An Empire (2024)

74 / 100

A Swarm of the Sun’s An Empire is a dark, melancholic post-rock/doom hybrid that blends noisy drone textures, thick guitars, and haunting vocals to create an immersive 70-minute journey.

The Swedish post-rock band A Swarm of the Sun returns with their fourth album, An Empire, once again delivering a sound that is as dark and melancholic as ever. The band stays true to their core identity by bringing back Jakob Berglund’s vocals.

In An Empire, A Swarm of the Sun leans more into noisy, drone-infused textures enhanced by piano, keyboards, organ, and similar instruments to craft a gloomy, melancholic atmosphere. This is complemented by abrasive, thick guitar tones reminiscent of doom/post-metal, making it quite natural for tracks like “Heathen,” “The Pyre,” and “Anthem” to stretch well beyond the ten-minute mark.

As mentioned earlier, the band doesn’t only focus on instrumentals — they add desperate, haunting vocals that blend seamlessly into the dark atmospheres shaped by instruments beyond the core guitar-bass-drums setup. The result feels ghostly, almost like Muse in doomer mode.

Out of the six tracks spanning roughly 70 minutes, it’s hard to pick a definitive best. However, in terms of pure listening pleasure, “This Will End in Fire” stands out as the clear winner. Opening the album with an organ intro reminiscent of Bell Witch’s Mirror Reaper, it’s less dense than the other songs and avoids the monotony of the title track “An Empire.” It’s an ideal hook to draw listeners in. Other strong contenders for standout track include “Heathen” and “The Pyre.”

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