Saga

This is a super lush record, there's no doubting that and if you're one to enjoy those typical foresty-metal bands you really oughta just head out and buy the shit out of this post-haste. I've always found that the general niche this sits in is pretty hit and miss, though; so if you're not one to start drooling at an Agalloch namedrop or whatever stick with me and I'll try to sell you this record as it's worth your time.

Saga (certainly, TFoS are not a band to understate what they aim for) is a really enjoyable listen, a particularly unique album and one worth delving into. There's a big chunk of Bergtatt in the reverbed, Garm-ish vocals and the remarkably pure melodies on offer- perhaps it's also Bergtatt-ish in the way that the riffs sound fresh- nothing here is that far our or anything, but it's not stale. You haven't heard this a few hundred times before, you know?

This could be attributed to a bunch of things; the compact and taut songwriting, the smooth way the band mixes the doom with the obvious black/folk (that one/two flow of Heavy Rest the Chains of the Damned and Judgement is not something most band could pull off) and perhaps most importantly, just how excellently the band pull off the three sounds that define much of this album.. One moment, there's a satisfying quarter-time breakdown to close off Judgement, next up there's a Bergtatt-by-way-of-Black-Hell stoner doom juggernaut in the form of Demise, with a bunch of really well done folk tunes in between. Some of the solo-ing here is pretty hard to beat, whether it's the more the beautiful none-more-mountainy folk noodling in The Mountain or triumphant lead lines throughout Reverence.

Look, I know it's not that interesting, hearing me say "this album does a lot of different things and it does them all really well", but that's basically a really effective descriptor of this album. It does the foresty black metal - albeit mostly of a fairly relaxed, mid-tempo variety- better than most. It does the folk stuff far, far, better than most. Tunes like "Harrowing Desperation" and the unexpected chord changes in the main riff also suggest that these guys do doomy stuff better than most. It'd be nice to hear the band try a bigger canvas or two and attempt some longer songs, as some of the riffs and soundscapes are so damn tasty that there's no reason another minute or two couldn't be tagged on. All in all that's the only criticism I can think of. It's a fantastic album, one that's become increasingly pleasurable to listen to with every time I play it and I'm stoked that this band exists, simply put.