Sweden's SILVER GRIME is a Doom Metal but who have unleashed their debut album, "Healed By The Dark."  Upon listening to the first track, "The Realm of the Ancient Stone," I got immediate CANDLEMASS vibes; they just have that big riff approach to the music.  The band also lists TROUBLE and ST. VITUS has influences—and I can definitely hear that as well.  As with those first three pioneering bands, SILVER GRIME's Doom contains more traditional melodies and a mix of classic/hard rock as opposed to the Doom sub genres that came later, such as Funeral or Gothic Doom; perhaps they wear their influences too obvious upon their sleeves but they play with conviction.  As such the music is very much riff oriented and centered around the clean vocals of Kallie Kronhamn.

His vocal delivery is very smooth and well-toned-his vocals definitely help fill up the band's already immense sound.  Guitarist Lindhe and his wonderful leads also go a long way in developing the band's overall musical atmosphere. The first track, "The Realm of the Ancient Stone," begins with the solid drumming of Hilding and the rumbling bass of Hakan.  Both of these musicians really lay the groundwork for the solid foundation on which the band's thundering Doom rests.  At 1:14 into this first track, the band stops to play a quick clean passage before the repeated a second time but this time with the usual Doom distortion; this showed two different sides of the band without compromising their sound.

"Children" is the next track; the vocal performance is the highlight, Kalle's vocals finding a perfectly balanced clean that mixes Traditional Doom with a sort of early 90's grunge style.  It is probably the catchiest song on the album and serves will for a good representation of what this band is all about.   "Like A Bloodred Rose," is a track with a black hole density riffs and a chorus that will be stuck in my head for days.  The clean guitar intersecting with the riffs during the stanzas was a nice touch as well.   "Execution of the Narcissist," is a short interlude that seems a bit awkwardly placed for me.  It would had served better as an intro or left out completely.  "Eclipse of Tomorrow," has a surprising sense of urgency heightened by the drums.  The riffs are a bit more melodic this time around, but the song stays on the lower end of things with the pounding bass.  The acoustic section and Kalle use of a lower vocal register really works well together, recalling ALICE IN CHAINS but a whole lot heavier and a bit more organic.

The title track has some ambient textures in the beginning where only the bass and vocals make their presence known.  The sound grows into a bluesy style beast, expressive guitar solos moving in and out of the stanzas.   Of course, the song does indeed get heavier as it goes along but it's the melodic, blues- based guitar solos that become the song's highlight. All in all, this is a very solid and strong debut from a band that so earlier in their career is already making decent headway.  The album is a bit on the short side, feeling almost like an EP as opposed to a full length but there is still a lot to enjoy.