October Tide is one of those rare constellations that really do deserve the epithet “cult band”. It emerged in 1995 at the hands of Jonas Renkse and Fredrik Norrman of Katatonia after the band had (temporarily as it turned out) split up, and their first album Rain Without End was released in 1997 by Vic Records and received much praise from fans and critics alike. After releasing a second album, Grey Dawn (1999), with a different lead singer, October Tide disbanded without having ever played a gig or given a single interview.

The well-nigh omnipresent Dan Swanö has now re-mastered this great album which was originally recorded in 1995, and hopefully this means that Rain Without End will become accessible to a much greater number of people who have hitherto been unaware of its existence.

This darkly atmospheric, moody, sorrowful piece of art oozes melancholy and bleakness in a way that will sound very familiar to those who have listened to early Katatonia (and Anathema’s The Silent Enigma or perhaps even Orchid by Opeth and early Amorphis), and the beautiful melodies, haunting keyboards and harsh vocals weave a tapestry so ominously compelling that it is almost impossible not to be caught up in the mood.

The genius of the tracks on this album is that the music is so varied – it balances very well between the hard and the soft: a solid wall of distortion softened by soothing guitars that conjure up images of autumnal, windswept landscapes and forlorn wilds that constitute a perfect backdrop to the season that is upon us.

There are massive, plodding riffs reminiscent of Brave Murder Day, off-key harmonics and death growls galore to satisfy our need for the brutal, and beautiful passages of acoustic guitars bordering on folk (the outro to All Painted Gold), electronica-like keyboards much akin to Sigur Rós (Losing Tomorrow) and wistfully wailing guitar melody lines to set the mood.