SAOR – Amidst the Ruins
Release Date: 7th February 2025
Label: Season of Mist
Bandcamp
Genre: Caledonian Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Folk Metal.
FFO: Agalloch, Winterfylleth, Wolves in the Throne Room, Panopticon, Cistvaen.
Review By: Rick Farley
“Out of the mists, where lore whispers in the winds, SAOR, the heralds of Caledonia’s primeval beauty and ancient tales, rise once again to enrapture souls far and wide. Their newest offering, Amidst the Ruins, is an epic voyage set to rekindle the fires of heritage and resurrect the valour that courses through Scotland’s vast landscapes.”
SAOR, conceived in 2013 by multi-instrumentalist Andy Marshall, sits atop the Scottish highlands, offering fierce black metal combined with haunting Celtic melodies and layers of rich saga based atmosphere. The ancestral connections between music and lore creates a soundscape that transports the listener to the heart of Caledonia and beyond.
Amidst the Ruins is emotionally charged, moving flawlessly through savage passages to much lighter ones within its near sixty minutes. The balance between the two is structured and focused on, in such a way, that the heft of the tracks each coming in at least eight plus minute runtime is barely ever felt as less than essential. Every song can be experienced together as a whole or simply individually, both evoking intensified emotions. The cinematic compositions weave about storming with blastbeats and calming with ethereal melodies, the black metal riffs are often raw with ferocity, while the folky atmospheres are immense and triumphant. It’s beautiful, raging, haunting and melancholic all within the context of a harrowing journey rich with lore that will leave the listener fully immersed and with a deeper awareness long after the music has stopped.
Echoes of the Ancient Land (11:41) immediately soars with fierce black metal, and screechy, growly vocals. The searing tremolo melodies burn with precision, igniting a coldness that combine into frostbitten frenzy. Expressive Celtic melodies flow towards, building back to the fierceness of the track after a passage of lush folkish calm. Guest musicians Ella Zlotos (female vocals, tin whistles, low whistles, uilleann pipes), Àngela Moya Serrat (violin, viola), Samuel C. Ledesma (cello) and Carlos Vivas (drums) all leaving lasting musical impressions from their incredible performances on this sing and throughout the album. The scope of this track is monumental.
Taking a less aggressive direction, the fluttering of acoustics with slow building instrumental layers on The Sylvan Embrace (8:18) bewitch with lavish allure. Quiet, whispery spoken vocals over the serene acoustic melodies and simplistic percussion mysteriously leads the way to male and female vocals harmonizing beautifully together in a memorable sing along cadence. The track never reaches past its foreboding, hypnotic sway or gets heavy in the guitar sense of the word but remains strikingly powerful in terms of emotional weight felt.
The grandeur of closing track Rebirth (14:09) is felt through punishing blast beats, bold melodies, and a blackened swagger. Aside from the track name itself, the cinematic storytelling gives a real sense of renewal or a rising of new dawns. A strong cultural heritage is felt for even those that are geographically distant in spirited self and in birthright. Towards the eight and half minute mark a transcending, bouncy guitar melody and the resplendent voice of Ella welcomes all with a warm, folky hymn. The juxtaposition from the first half being hellish, doomy black metal with vibrant melodies to a powerful, heartfelt, inviting mood is nothing short of breathtaking. By the end of this track, you’ll feel a sense of pride and rejuvenation.
Amidst the Ruins stands as a tried and true formula for the band that at this point is truthfully not breaking any new ground. However, in the grand scheme of things, for any band, let alone one main songwriter to achieve this level of masterful songwriting that affects not only your musical ear but also your heart and soul this consistently is something that deserves all the recognition it’s going to get. I’m not sure where it lands in SAOR’s discography for me just yet, but I’m left with staggering emotions that will have me hitting replay quite frequently. This is outstanding.
(5 / 5)
