In the beginning of 1998 Darkane rose out of the ashes of Agretator, an ill-fated but talented band giving Watchtower (of course you remember them!) a run for the money. When Agretator became history, drummer Peter Wildoer and guitarist Christofer Malmström teamed up with fellow six stringer Klas Ideberg and bass player Jörgen Löfberg.
This new outfit immediately began to crystallize a more aggressive, straight forward sound, both technical and brutal.
The combination of Peter Wildoer's unique drumming style and a steady floodwave of blistering guitar work created an eerie feeling that can only be described as... Darkane-ish!
After two tracks on the seminal "WAR Dance"-compilation, Darkane appeared as iron-clad saviours with their highly acclaimed 1999 debut "Rusted Angel". The vocal duties on this album were expertedly handled by Lawrence Mackrory.
Never change a winning team. Well, almost never, because in 1999 Darkane got a new vocalist in Andreas Sydow, adding fresh ideas to the trademark sound of Darkane. The familiar ingredients were still there though. The second album "Insanity" was carefully carved out of the manic ideas and released through Nuclear Blast in 2001.
"Expanding Senses" is the third strike from Darkane. It took almost three months of hard work in the studio to record the nine tracks on this grandiose album. The guitar and bass parts were recorded at their home studio, while the drums, vocals and the final mix were done by Daniel Bergstrand at Dug-Out Studio (Meshuggah, In Flames, Strapping Young Lad and others). The result is a mixture between the heaviness of "Rusted Angel" and the modern sound of "Insanity". A mixture of the two past albums plus lots of new ideas and a riff massacre that might blow up your mind, might begin to describe "Expanding Senses".
Darkane have never been commercial or straight; their sound was always kind of futuristic and different from anything else we heard before. There're a lot of different elements within their sound, as no track sounds like another. Their unique mixture of thrash, death and metal will definitely expand your senses and may confuse you in any number of ways. The only thing all of the nine tracks have in common is their extreme heaviness.
Andreas Sydow once more fascinates with his clear and aggressive vocals. On "Chaos Vs. Order" he is having a great joint venture with Lawrence Mackrory who sang on "Rusted Angel". That's the time when you feel transported back to the bay area when thrash ruled! Darkane have always been special; you never know what to expect, apart from a bunch of heaviness. Progressive influences from bands like Watchtower or Cynic also find their way into the music, which you need to listen to several times before you begin to understand it. A video clip has been shot for the opening track, "Innocence Gone". "Expanding Senses" documents a modern metal album from a band that's different and kicks every fuckin' ass around! Enjoy this one-way trip, you might never come back!
Source: http://www.darkane.com/
