During a conversation on their last tour, Darkane made it clear that in retrospect they weren`t at all satisfied with their Insanity album. Too clean and not heavy enough was their opinion; they promised me their third album would deliver the best possible mix between Rusted Angel and Insanity. Now, nearly a year later, Expanding Senses is ready to be released upon the masses. Curious as hell, I couldn`t wait to pop it into my player and see if Darkane have kept their word. And yes, they did. Fans of Rusted Angel might be relieved to see Darkane back into the darker deaththrash territories which is pretty clear from opener "Innocence Gone" on. Vocalist Andreas still gives the band a unique face, but he did his best to improve his singing and is even backed up by original vocalist Lawrence Mackrory on "Solitary Confinement".

While Expanding Senses is definitely more metal again, there are still a lot of parallels with hardcore as well as Devin Towsend-influenced singing. Peter Wildoer is in top form, once more establishing his reputation as one of the best drummers in metal ,while the twin-guitar attacks of Christofer Malmstrom and Klas Ideberg complement each other more than ever. Even though I personally like the clean of production of Insanity more than the heavier and dirtier approach on this album, Expanding Senses is a hell of an album that will satisfy any fan of the band.