Finland’s Swallow the Sun is a band that has done incredibly well to stake its claim as a serious contender within the beautifully depressing doom/death genre. Even though I thought their debut album – The Morning Never Came – was worlds better than 2005’s Ghosts of Loss, that follow up was still a solid enough outing that showed the strength and confidence of a band that plans on – and should very well be – making quality records for many years to come. Enter studio effort number three, which is irrefutably a far more consistent listen than its predecessor, and without a doubt puts the band back on track with the supreme songwriting displayed on their 2003 debut.

Hope is an album that seethes with the same mouth-watering ingredients that have been present on the band’s previous albums – effortless yet chunky riffs that pave the way for disheartening guitar melodies, somber atmospheric keys that paint the ideal dismal and murky background, and boisterous gutturals peppered ever so lightly with solemnly sung clean interludes (Katatonia's Jonas Renkse and Amorphis' Tomi Joutsen each make a guest vocal appearance). The clean vocals are much more prevalent than has been the case in the past, showing not only a vast improvement in range and smoother choice of melody, but also a searing sense of confidence and maturity in the overall delivery. Also more noticeable on the album are the attention grabbing choruses that are far catchier and more prominent here, as heard on songs like the serene "The Justice of Suffering", the single "Don’t Fall Asleep (Horror Pt. 2)" and the alarmingly tranquil "Too Cold for Tears". What some may call a slight attempt at writing more digestible songs for the sake of gaining a broader fan base, I simply call more cohesive songwriting and an ability to write more noteworthy hooks, yet the band still manages to retain their integrity as a group. While songs like the opening title track and "The Empty Skies" lurch and mope along blissfully, other tracks like the slightly up tempo "These Hours of Despair" and the luminous "No Light, No Hope" and "Doomed to Walk the Earth" flourish with riffs of deepened girth sprinkled with some of the gravest melodies I’ve heard from the group.

All in all, if I had to complain about anything it would be that Hope doesn’t offer the doom/death genre anything groundbreaking or revolutionary, but while not a perfect album by any stretch of the imagination, I feel it is certainly a close second to the debut. And really, how much more can be done with this sound to help it evolve? At the end of the day Swallow the Sun can no longer merely be considered a contender within the genre; with three very solid albums under their collective belt they are truly among the elite here in 2007, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Fans of the band will love this, and fans of the genre are encouraged to get your grubby little paws on this release. It is a very impressive listen that just doesn’t seem to ware thin like so many albums in metal do these days. Recommended to any and all fans of beautifully depressive metal music.