SATURNUS
'Saturn In Ascension'
(Cyclone Empire)
There
are some bands that just completely transcend their perceived genre
confines they're that far ahead of most of their peers in sound and
stature that no matter if they were to release a shitty album
tomorrow you still have to sit back and admire the sheer magnitude
and impact their influence has had in a certain corner of music. It's
been nigh on twenty years now since their momentous debut 'Paradise
Belongs to You';
the dismal Danish doomsters Saturnus
are back with a full length after a barren six years with their gloom
ridden soul siphon and believe you me, they're just as fucking
miserable as before. I'm not going to lie when I say I wasn't holding
out a considerable amount of hope for this release when I heard about
it, I mean I wasn't expecting it to be bad, there's just only so many
times you can release nigh on perfect album after nigh on perfect
album, you've got to slip at some point surely?
Their
previous three albums have all been astounding slabs of melancholic
doom/death and each different in their own unique way and straight
from the opening notes of “Litany of Rain” I just knew this was
going to be another classic. For those who're none the wiser as to
who Saturnus
are, they're one of
doom metal's relatively unsung heroes with their heavily melancholic
and gothic stylized brand of death doom, think of something along the
lines of 'Angel and the
Dark River' era
My
Dying Bride,
Winter
and Skepticism
if you're looking for a close comparison as to what they sound like.
'Paradise...' is
widely regarded as one of the genre's finest examples of this style
and not without good reason, it's easily one of the top ten
doom/death albums of all time. 'Saturn
In Ascension' swings
stylistically back towards the aforementioned album yet still
incorporating elements from both the excellent 'Martyre'
and
'Veronika Decides to Die'
for
a release which while extremely melodic and gothic in design, is
still absolutely crushing in it's execution.
As
I sit here with that familiar telling chill in the air, I can't help
but feel that 'Saturn In
Ascension'
is exactly the perfect soundtrack to these portentous nights. “Litany
of Rain” begins with some tasteful choral vocals before the guitar
comes crashing down to slowly lumber through agony wrought riffs
interwoven sporadically with those angelic chorals for ten minutes
giving the impression of a black draped funeral procession, shorn by
wind and lashed by rain. Simply put, if you were in a positive 'life
is great' mood before you listened to this, you'll be knocking out
the Prozac afterwards. Thomas' vocals are as impressive as ever, his
death guttural a grave shaking growl while his clean vocals emotive
if a little awkward at times. The new recruits on axe (or shovel)
duty, Rune and Mattias play with such a conviction and familiarity
that you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd been in the band from day
one. The atmosphere which is compounded through their skull crushing,
heavily encumbered riffs and forlorn, meandering leads is second to
none and where the similarity to Skepticism
comes to mind, though don't be mistaken as this isn't funeral doom,
it's a tad more upbeat and dynamic than that, though it's inarguable
that in the past Saturnus
has certainly lent their sound to such bands.
Such
bands like Agalloch
owe
a great deal to these guys as well, again just listen to the debut
and you'll hear what I'm talking about. Those delicate acoustic
melodies and reflective, autumnal guitar passages present there
return and are vividly present on “Wind Torn” and it bears a more
than passing resemblance to Agalloch
indeed. If ever a song threatened to tear your very soul out and nail
it to a weather beaten cross then here you go, the guitar passages
are mesmerizing and just welling in emotion and the vocals embracing
a disconsolate abandon. It's entering the season of death and decay,
and fuck if there's a song out there as fitting as this then I don't
want to hear it. Depressing doesn't even cut it. “A Lonely Passage”
and “Call of the Raven Moon” provide the non metal tracks this
time around with the former a heart tugging soliloquy layered with
acoustics and gentle piano passages. The latter is a good track also
but comes close to being the only one here I would come close to
calling filler material. The addition of the flute in along with the
acoustics at the start was a nice idea but ultimately the song ends
up being rather uneventful, not helped by the fact the spoken vocals
sound a bit awkward and indifferent to be honest.
When
your shortest track is still over five minutes, the quality and
diversity which each track must contain becomes exceedingly important
especially through a release this dauntingly intense and expansive,
and something which 'Saturn
In Ascension does
well to maintain. The relatively brief “A Father's Providence” is
a behemoth of a track with the most energetic rhythm here, a
head-banger of sorts with more huge crunching riffs which gives us a
slight glimpse to the bands primitive early roots with it's crude
death gutturals interspersed with some tasteful piano work dancing
underneath like droplets of water. As far as the second half of the
album goes “Mourning Sun” is the standout track here, another
with such an emotional burden that it'll bring you to your knees with
its overbearing riffs weighing a tonne, slowly inching forward. Again
I have to state how amazingly sublime the lead/solo work here is,
just as it was all those years ago with Kim Larsen; the guitarist has
the tone down to a tee so much so that the album would be a lot less
memorable without, and guitar leads were never really a focal point
with doom metal. Just listen to “Forest of Insomnia” and you'll
know what I mean, the guitar work in it is similarly enthralling in
the way it builds up to the climatic solo at the end.
'Saturn
In Ascension' is
pretty much a doom metal masterpiece, but then Saturnus
are apparently only able deal in masterpieces as this is now their
fourth. It's standalone in it's utterly agonizing brilliance, an
emotionally draining, sprawling and pious journey of desolation
laying clear all one's woes and grief for all to see, and another
doom/death monolith in the genre to file alongside an untouchable
legacy. Saturnus
are finally back guys and they're here to show a new generation of
pretenders just how the fuck it's supposed to be done. A hopeless,
shining paragon of modern doom metal and one that'll you'll
undoubtedly be hearing more about further down the road. Can these
guys ever do wrong? It doesn't seem likely. A certain contender for
album of the year. Buy or die. [10]
(Chris Cowgill)
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