Of all the names that come to mind when thinking of the underrated metal genre: Death/Doom, Danish band Saturnus are not one of those who would immediately spring to mind – at least not for me or for those around me who dig such a sorrowful mix of doom metal and early death.

Nevertheless, Saturnus have now been on the road for 30 years and their fifth studio album “The Storm Within” has dropped in time to celebrate the Danes’ career in making the most miserable times of life an audible beauty.

Everything you’d expect from such a band is here, a slow opening with pianos echoing like an empty hall in a vampiric horror movie, melodic mixes of guitars that drive the audience into a warming melancholia that only doom and its adjacent genres can do and a fair mix of clean and growled vocals that don’t outdo their welcome.

However, I will say that this album marks that Saturnus came into their own some time ago and have perfected their sound, which is great as it means they won’t go away anytime soon but there’s nothing significant to say they were exploring new territories. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for a band to have made it and are representing their nation in the world of doom metal melancholia, but if you were hoping for something a tad different, please don’t get your hopes up. I always look out for any new steps taken by an established band and cannot say there were any on The Storm Within, so this will please both veteran fans and those new to the death/doom world.

Not many people can say they’ve made a career out of being miserable and Saturnus have made such a phenomenon possible for any Danes who want to make the most sorrowful of music inspired by death, loss, breakups and depression. Here’s a band you need for when you are feeling hurt and they will not disappoint in embracing the hardest, darkest of times.

(6/10 Demitri Levantis)

https://www.facebook.com/saturnusofficial

https://saturnus-official.bandcamp.com/album/the-storm-within