Modern Swedish Death Metal knockoffs are usually something I avoid, but the debut full-length from SWARN, "Black Flame Order", is an album that I excuse. In fact, I found myself excited to hear what was next when I listened to it. It seemed as if every turn had something new to offer.

At least, that's how it was for the first few tracks. I really like this album, but the structure is very crippling. While they made the right move to start and end the album very strong, tracks six through nine can get dry at times. Granted, each track has at least one redeeming quality, but none of them live up to what was presented on the first half of the album.

"Emptied and Silenced" is the most diverse song on here. In just three minutes the band shows depth, atmosphere, voice-overs, riffs and they top it off with a menacingly epic outro. The song may be just three minutes, but there are so many different aspects that if feels much larger. "They Are Blind" and "The Otherness" both have very dark, brooding sections that add to the band's style and image. They reek of doom and they are saturated with good riffs.

This is something that slowly dies out as the album progresses. In fact, what is shown on the first few tracks is never seen again until "Enlightenment from the Dark", the very last track. This song has fast, changing riffs with nice progression and a brooding atmosphere. It is all topped off with a crushing, slow melody with cleaner, yet still raspy vocals that can cause goosebumps. This is how you end an album.

Outside of an unbalanced structure, this album boasts great production that does not sacrifice the grit that is traditionally provided by Swedish Death Metal. In fact, this band's sound can be cavernous despite moments, specifically on "Labyrinth of Amygdala", where the production makes everything very clear and profound.

As much I touch base on the fact that the structure of the album is unbalanced, in the end the album is still very good. I would say that it's especially good for a debut, but fortunately I find myself saying that a lot. If you enjoy very fast Death Metal in the vein of ENTOMBED with a hint of MORBID ANGEL, this should be next on your listening list.