I was witnessing performance picking and melodious riffing crafted in a flamenco sound. Whoever was playing this was undoubtedly pro!! After listening to it several times consecutively, I learned that this was a virtuoso acoustic guitar duo that started their careers in Mexico before settling in Dublin. The heart of their success story seems to be rooted in maintaining their ethnic style and combining it with their metal roots.

Like many here, my interest in music stemmed from a fascination with heavy metal and its many subgenres. After vehemently listening only to extreme metal for the better part of six years, I began working at a freeform college radio station, where I soon realized that I had been wanting more for quite some time. It was here that I fully understood it wasn’t necessarily heavy metal I liked so much, but the prevailing musical themes, moods and atmospheres.

At the Gates are a band that should need no introduction. They have been one of the most influential metal bands of the past decade. An incredible number of the highly successful bands owe an enormous debt to these Swedes. In fact, many of “these” bands have defined their sound directly by what At the Gates was doing ten years earlier. I don’t blame anyone for being influenced by such an incredible an astonishing band, but I feel like they aren’t mentioned enough as being direct influences. I’ll end this diatribe, but I’m sure a few of you understand what I’m talking about.

Magical themes were captured when the song ‘Kielo’ was written and recorded for the AIRUT:CIWI album. These aesthetic, melodic, and piano driven feelings carried on to become a solid volume in the Airut saga. Thus, Harmaa formed and was based around the visions of Tyko Saarikko and Ilmari Issakainen.

Tonight’s contribution represents one of the most important songs in the world to me. If I were on a desert island and could only choose 5 songs to have with me, “Inner Silence” by Anathama would be one. Without hesitation. The nearly spiritual experience of relating to a piece of music as if its yours is sacred. Music shaped and defined my life. Anathema are one of the few bands responsible behind this force. While I cherish most of their releases, 1998’s “Alternative 4” goes where few albums can take me.

Chris Isaak has written some unquestionably blue, melancholic and outright depressive songs. That’s a fact. I’m well aware several readers may see his name and withdraw in disapproval — they are simply missing out. Simple as that. I actually had quite a hard time deciding which song I would contribute tonight, as there are several altogether stellar dark songs he has written. In the end, I decided on “Nothing’s Changed” from the “Wicked Game” album.

Riverside is a band I had never heard of prior to dark dose reader Simon e-mailing me a couple of nights ago. He suggested it might be appropriate for a contribution. The comparisons he made to Porcupine Tree and Anathema immediately peaked my interest so I did a bit of research. I instantly discovered many reviews praising the band — nearly all with comparisons to Porcupine Tree, Anathema, Pink Floyd, Arena, Opeth, etc. I even saw banner advertisements for the album pointing out the same comparisons: “Like Anathema, Porcupine Tree, Opeth? Listen to Riverside!”. The Polish prog-rockers had recently released their second album, “Second Life Syndrome” on Inside Out Records, so I was exceedingly curious to what I was missing.

Forlatt’s translation means “to be abandoned”, which is the vibe that he has successfully accomplished. The song really does sound remote and dettached as if it was created in some obscure location. Vali has created a romantic, melancholic atmosphere, steeped in folklore and tradition, somewhere between neo-classical and folk.