Jonathan Hultén – Eyes Of The Living Night

Jonathan Hultén – Eyes Of The Living Night
Release Date:
31st January 2025
Label: Kscope Records
Bandcamp
Genre:
Ambient Dream-Grunge, Folk, Rock, Pop.
FFO: Leprous, Harakiri For The Sky, Uboa.
Review By: Ross Bowie

Swedish multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Hultén is back with this sophomore album, Eyes Of The Living Night. While his debut album was more introspective and personal, this time round he is looking to take his music to bigger and bolder places, through world building and soundscapes across the album’s 12 tracks. 

Eyes Of The Living Night is hard to describe because Jonathan Hultén throws so many ideas at the wall, but he’s not just doing it to find out what sticks, everything seems calculated and there to maximise his vision. This is the definition of a headphone’s album, for all that songs are easy to follow, and the attention to detail in the background is constantly growing and evolving, adding in so much texture if you’re willing to go looking for it. 

The vocals are right on the verge of going into power metal territory but thankfully never cross over that threshold, instead they rely on luscious harmonies, but Jonathan Hultén can sing and really let his voice go when he wants to. Riverflame and album closer, Starbather, really push his vocals to the front and let him show off his chops. The use of layered vocals also gives everything an eerie and sinister feel, opposed to the beautiful music that is being created. 

If you’re looking for a fast and upbeat listen to get you through the day, then Eyes Of The Living Night will not scratch that itch, but if you’re looking to get fully lost in the music, then this release is a joy for the senses. The ambiance gets its hooks in early on, and the instrumentation creates such a melancholy atmosphere that makes it easy to get lost in. The ability to craft different worlds comes so easily to Jonathan Hultén; one minute you can feel like floating through space before being transported to a medieval dungeon at the drop of a hat. This is helped by an immaculate production job where everything has its place and is clean enough that no details are lost in the waters. 

Eyes Of The Living Night has shown that Jonathan Hultén’s decision to leave Tribulation and go out on his own was the correct one, his former band are flying high, and his solo material has been different and exciting enough that both parties win. He has always had the ability to craft such vivid worlds through his music but now gets to do it in a way that is his own, this album sounds like someone who was never told no, and it’s all the more impressive for it.

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

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