Review of Canopy - Will and Perception

I have a very vague recollection of this Swedish bands full length debut 2006, Serene Catharsis as a mix of gruff Swedish death metal with a slight melodic, progressive lean, and this re-issue of their 2005 WIll and Perception demo EP along with two new tracks and a reworked 2004 demo track (“Common Walls”) seems to cement that recollection.

Not quite as full on progressive as Opeth, not as robust as some of their Stockholm peers and not as melodic as the Gothenburg lads, Canopy’s sound seems to cull from all three avenues and the result, while solid and technically competent seems just a bit undecided. I also hear a little bit of Germany’s Island in here as the bands choppy but still ornamental textures shuffle from shuddering death metal with low growls to a more experimental style of death metal replete with acoustics and interludes and back again. To their credit, none of it seems self indulgent or forced and the whole affair has a laid back, loose feel.

The two new tracks, “Riddance” and instrumental “Counsels and Maxims” seem a bit tighter and more progressive hinting at something pretty decent with future efforts, but they fail to offset the slightly confused and jumbled nature of the redone tracks that seem far more Opeth-ian (“Void” and the ten minute “Will” in particular), but still enjoyable. The production is nice and earthy, eschewing the clean sound (and clean vocals) of their peers and all being told, there is quite a bit of promise here if the band can simply channel that talent into better songs that aren’t quite as Opeth -ish, as they seem capable of more.