by Ed RivadaviaFresh off the band's critically and fan-acclaimed second album, Godless Beauty, Sweden's Cemetary was determined to carry on experimenting with different musical styles and incorporating new sonic elements into its ever-evolving post-death metal sound. Yet, unlike the group's compatriots Tiamat and Opeth, who sought to expand heavy metal's boundaries by clashing together harsh dynamic contrasts (often quite successfully, it must be said), Cemetary, and particularly main man Mathias Lodmalm, seemed bent on pursuing a more restrained, organic path of development. True to this credo, 1994's Black Vanity remained true to the slower-paced, doom metal trajectory initiated so successfully a year earlier (see the creeping Ebony Rain), while simultaneously taking greater chances to incorporate dark, melancholy melodies into the mix (with the acoustic guitar-led Hunger of the Innocent). Also, Lodmalm wisely decided to retire his death growl for good, and his lyrics clearly eschewed the obvious demon