LINEUP:

Apollo Papathanisio vocals
Niklas Engelin guitars (see also Passenger)
Robert Hakemo bass
Thim Blom drums

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, it may come as no surprise that Gardenian plays the sort of melodic death metal that has become synonymous with their hometown (indeed, Niklas Engelin served time in In Flames as a touring guitarist before deciding to devote himself full-time to Gardenian). Sure enough, Soulburner is a prime slice of melodic death, with one important difference -- the band hired Artch vocalist Eric Hawk to sing clean vocals on half of the tracks. His Dickenson-inspired vocals are a striking contrast to Jim Kjell's traditional harsher vocals, thus lending Soulburner a sense of originality that's beginning to lack in this genre. Vocal work aside, the music blends the right amount of melody, brutal riffing, and strong songwriting to make the album a winner. The newer Sindustries shows a definite maturation. Kjell himself has taken to alternating between clean and death vocals (and is quite adept at both), but the music is beginning to branch beyond the traditional Gothenburg sound. Though somewhat different in their approach, both Soulburner and Sindustries are recommended albums.

The band underwent some lineup changes in 2003 and planned a release for later that year, but it never materialized, and the latest reports are that the band broke up in early 2004. Two of the members are involved in Passenger, and another new band featuring ex-members has been formed, by the name of Kerozene.