A rerecorded collection consisting of the Will And Perception EP (and one song from During Day One)with some new songs, this album (cunningly entitled Will And Perception) may not be new to many reading, as Metal Reviews has been a longterm supporter of this rather fantastic young Swedish band, yet it’s still worthy of your time as it is a pretty amazing slice of Death Metal. Canopy have always had a taste for the progressive side of Death Metal, their 2006 album Serene Catharsis proving that it’s possible for a band to be bonecrushingly heavy as well as rather beautifully prog, and this new version of Will And Perception shows that Canopy are still mining that rich vein of awesomeness.

Let’s get the criticism out of the way; this doesn’t feel like an album, and can be a frustrating listen because of it. The tracks seem to have little relation to each other and the way that one flows into another is clumsy at best, especially on the Eastern-flavoured interlude Counsels And Maxims that‘s been inserted before Common Walls – very unnecessary, but it shows the band’s willingness to experiment, and it’s hard not to love the following tracks, especially the new Riddance with its atmospheric vibe, and the closing one-two punch of Void and Will is brilliant. Void is simply melodic Death Metal at its best, whilst the ten-minute closer Will explores the melodic side of the band’s sound perfectly. More often than not the songs go into melodic interludes, punctuated by crunching Death Metal groove and Fredrik’s diabolical growls, yet never does it seem like anything other than genius songwriting. For The Sickened Voice To Hear especially does great things, a good bit heavier than the last time we heard it and full of everything that makes Canopy so good; expert musicianship at the top of a long list of praise.

This release was due to be out a while back, and Canopy are actually working on their follow-up to Serene Catharsis even as I type this, so any small niggles are probably down to my impatience for the new album! Will And Perception will disappoint few with perception and a willingness to explore this excellent band’s history, proof that Dan Swanö wasn’t mistaken to lend the band his name and credibility back in the day – if you’ve missed out on Canopy so far, this will be a great opportunity to catch up whilst we wait for the band’s next opus.