THE MOANING - Blood From Stone LP (Black Vinyl)

Limited to 250 copies on black vinyl.
Glossy inside-out/reverseboard jacket, includes double-sided insert with retrospective notes.

Not only is Blood from Stone one of the better melodic black/death metal albums you've never heard of in that crowded Swedish scene, but it's also got one of the finer covers out there, a creepy forest scene with a color palette that rivals your Somberlains and Storms of the Light's Bane. And I make such comparisons on purpose, because while they don't sound exactly like the late Jon Nödtveidt's creative offspring, that is the first band I think of when I recall the detail they often put into their riffs, the blend of savage floods of dark chords sliced through by these waves of well composed melodies that add balance and completion to what otherwise might get a little monotonous or boring. Hell, there's enough breadth here that The Moaning will also appeal to fans of melodeath like Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates and earlier In Flames.