Saor - Roots
2013 / Atmospheric Folk/Black Metal
After daily listening to Saor’s “Roots” for the past week
and a half, I feel completely blown away. The first few minutes of the title track
“Roots” initially had me a bit skeptical, employing generic, atmospheric black
metal elements that can be found throughout the genre. But where most bands
sink into that monotonous repetition, Saor forges ahead, creating an enormous
sound, filled with a power and beauty I’ve never encountered in the genre
before.
“Balance”, is the perfect word to sum up this album. The mix
is done flawlessly. All instruments can be heard clearly and consistently, providing
a huge spectrum of sounds. This balance especially compliments the use of folk
instruments like the tin whistle and violin. Where these delicate instruments
would otherwise be drowned out by the guitar and drums, they provide some of
the strongest melodies and passages in the whole album. Nothing feels overused
and while there is repetition, it doesn’t feel tedious.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the harsh vocals but they are done
with a certain passion that definitely benefited the music. And even though it
was only administered a few times, the use of clean vocals was very well done.
Overall, this is a great debut album and I would highly
suggest it to fans of atmospheric black metal or folk metal.
Favorite Song: Carved in Stone
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