Saintsombre is a project comprising half of an old black metal band Sacrarium who rereleased two albums between 2009 and 2013. The instigator of Saintsombre sees this as “an artistic evolution”. Still pursuing dark themes while exploring the concept of duality and life challenges, the artist has widened his musical style in the direction of sludge and post-metal.
The album starts with a harsh piece of dark sludge called “Reflection”. I sensed tension and menace but by the end was still waiting for it to get going. “Spectre” is similarly grey, comprising an apocalyptic slab of doom-sludge-post metal. It oozes pain and suffering. An interesting element is a series of reverberating electronic waves which appear and take the track in a melancholic direction before being overtaken by a final, underwhelming post-metal segment. “Circle” starts with thumping authority. The synthesiser takes over and plays a cyber tune with a more pungent background from the guitar and drums. It seemed to be stuck in a rut, but the pace picks up and to despairing growls and pleas, there is more urgency to proceedings. Even with a little synthesiser tune at the end, I found it monochrome.
The title track is dominated initially by a deadened, repetitive beat. Even when the direction changes, it is clear that Saintsombre likes to linger. Electronic pulses provide a cameo amid the harsh monotony which is the main path. The same sludgy rhythm starts off “Sun”. The structure is not unlike Cult of Luna, barring the electronic interludes, but instead of developing an impressive mass of sound, this is more like a relentless, largely repetitive journey with no destination. There is hardly any difference between the hammering backdrop of “Sun” and “Deliverance” – a bit slower perhaps but whilst the sound is sludgy and heavy, it seems as if it’s on a loop. The growled vocals fit the bill, sounding pained and anguished. The best part happened at the end where the growling bass and synthesiser create an intensely dark and menacing atmosphere. Unfortunately it ended and with “Fall” we were back to the same sludgy guitar line and dark, despairing progress with electronic waves to provide fleeting intrigue.
For me this album never built up a head of steam. I suppose the theme of the album didn’t lend itself to excitement but I was clutching at straws to find something to hang on to. I liked the electronic sections and found the way they were managed interesting, but in the scheme of things they were a bright spot in an unimaginative straitjacket. If you like a chunking, penetrating post-metal rhythm, then this is for you. I don’t mind it but its presence everywhere made this album monotonous and stifling.
(4/10 Andrew Doherty)
Leave a Reply