Here we have yet another bunch of Swedes putting out some great metal music. Sarea can be described as melodic aggressive, or self-labeled “modern melodic metal” with powerful, melodic vocals. Sounds good so far, right? In the same vein as Soilwork’s Björn "Speed" Strid, Sarea vocalist Chris Forsberg moves effortlessly between clean and harsh singing, and I have to say that it’s a style that I really enjoy.

‘This Is Not Goodbye’ is the follow up to the 2010 debut album 'Alive', and while I don’t know the debut album well, a quick scan of it reveals there is no major style shift between the two albums.

“Catch 22” is one of the speedier tracks, the pounding beat giving the song more of a death metal vibe. In “Chase”, a Children of Bodom influence can be picked up in the verses, and works well in this mid-tempo gem. “Hope” features some heavy drum work by Calle Larsson. The final track “Egoblivion” is something a little different. It takes off screaming – heavy sound and screaming vocals for the first half of the song, mellows to a spoken word interlude, and ends with only instruments.

The songs are well-written, with all elements working together to create some very solid, cohesive and enjoyable songs. If you like Soilwork, Mercenary, In Flames, Children of Bodom and similar bands, you should definitely give Sarea a listen.