Beseech are one of those bands I discovered during one of my late night band searches. With a little help from my old friend, the search engine, a cool name caught my eye, Beseech. That little word brought melancholy and desperation to my mind and seeing as Beseech was advertised as Goth Metal, this sounded just my cup of tea. It didn't take long for their music to prove me right. With a superior grasp on melody, an eye-catching keyboardist and a good level of crunch, Beseech soon had me well on my way to headbanging land. Time has passed since then and there have been some lineup changes but almost all of these have been for the best.
In most aspects I felt that 1992 was a wash up but it had one thing going for it, Beseech formed that year in Boras, Sweden. 1995 brought their first record deal with We Bite/Corrosion Records, a relationship which continued until 1998, during which time they released their first album, From A Bleeding Heart. In 1999 Beseech signed a deal with Pavement Records. They began writing their 2nd record, Black Emotions. It was during this time that Lotta Hoglin (vocalist) joined the band. She added a new dimension to their music, combining beautifully with Jergan's gruffer voice. After the tour supporting Black Emotions, Jergan left the band and was replaced by Erik Molarin. In 2001 they were signed to Napalm Records and a year later released their next album, Souls Highway. Their next record is Drama and came out in 2004, which brings us to 2005 and the record this review is most concerned with, Sunless Days
My how they have grown! The little Goth band's grasp of melody is getting impressive without becoming to much and choking the core of the song. The guitar and keyboards are the best part of Beseech's melancholia but everyone does a good job, lending a nice full sound to Sunless Days. Lotta's voice is a little better and Erik's is noticably stronger - though still not as unique as Jergan's was. Erik has a deep, brooding sound to his singing, reminiscent of Peter Steele (Type O Negative), though the resemblance lessens with every release. On previous albums Lotta was the better vocalist but on Sunless Days Erik has caught up with her. As always Beseech are atmospheric, although perhaps less frightening and more mournful than they use to be (on most tracks). The production is spotless and the guitar-work has a pretty good crunch factor as well.
The best song on the album is Innerlane. It is extremely catchy, desperate sounding and very fast. The next best song is Devil's Plaything which is an evil little love song with the best guitar-work on the album and some pretty unique sounding synthesizers. My third favorite is Bittersweet Tragedy which is a laid back tune with the best keyboard-work on Sunless Days.
Considering how much Beseech's lineup has chaned over the years, it's amazing that they are still around and a miracle that they keep improving. It looks as if this latest combination of musicians may be the one that gets them noticed. Beseech certainly caught my eye, I mean ear (rueful grin). I am pleased with their gradual evolution and happy to give them a thumb up!