Belgian black metallers Saille have been putting together quite a package over the past few years: nice image and album concepts, high quality playing and a sound that manages to weave its way through a convincing range of second wave black metal pastures of varying darkened hues. It’s a credible orchestral black metal sound that successfully sidesteps all the overblown stereotypes and clichés that even the grand masters of the genre have slowly fallen into and, even if that doesn’t immediately sound on paper like it’s enough to set them apart, Saille manage to make it all very enjoyable and satisfying in the execution. In short, it’s a band worth checking out. I won’t even bother to go at length into the musical influences (but for the record: Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Dark Funeral and any number of imitators). But Saille elevate themselves beyond the status of mere 1990s tribute act by being bloody good at what they do – putting the credibility back into a genre that constantly threatens to burn itself out by mistaking excess and bombast for quality. Saille is a kind of orchestral black metal salute to the past but with a self-awareness that only something new would do and wrapped in some nice touches that allow the band’s personality to shine through what could easily have sounded all too familiar.
The potential was, of course, more than evident back in 2011’s Irreversible Decay. And Saille seem to have been on a steadily improving trend since with last year’s highly polished Ritu and now pretty swiftly followed by the even bolder and darker Eldritch. This time round the concept is based around horror literature rather than the more overtly pagan concepts of previous releases but that hasn’t made a great deal of difference to the overall character of the sound. That said, they’ve reached new levels of melody-laced speed and aggression, like second track Walpurgis, while flexing their creative muscles on the more restrained tracks like Red Death and grandly orchestral Eater of Worlds. With Eldritch, as with Ritu, there is always something hidden just around the corner, cool surprises and flourishes buried in the arrangements and full-on black metal blasts. The vocals are noticeably more diverse this time round and I also like the fact that, as before, the ‘symphonic’ elements are well controlled. Saille has more subtlety than the average symphonic black metal band with the sparing use of instruments and samples that drift through the rest of the music and well used here in an effort to create an extra level of haunting darkness without dominating. Although I may have to dock half a point for the Nightwish-esque spoken word parts in The Great God Pan which jar a little when the rest of the album is so thoughtfully put together. But as well as merging all that has gone before into a finely produced cacophony, there is something likeable about Saille and they are clearly just getting into their stride.
So does Eldritch actually move us on from Ritu? The production is definitely heavier this time round and the arrangements and sound feel more dense. The individual tracks also feel more direct as if the band is developing a greater sense of purpose – faster, sharper and with more direction. This is clearly a band keen to capitalise on its initial success and fill the cupboard with a few more stage-ready tracks for its ever growing number of live appearances. And good luck to them. I’d probably say Eldritch is a more a case of broadening the Saille repertoire than any marked evolution. As I said when I reviewed Ritu in January last year, Saille is not exactly reinventing the scene, just doing what they do very well and highlighting the fact that it is still possible to create a real impact without sounding like you’re treading water. Of course, the problem for Saille will be to begin that tricky evolution at some point to avoid becoming victim to the same criticisms of the scene it has so successfully differentiated itself from. The next one could be tricky. In the meantime, all good and respectable stuff from a band that will no doubt continue to make its mark.
(7.5/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
Leave a Reply