Saor: Forgotten Paths (2019)

After falling for the Vvilderness album a few months back, I decided to seek out some similar bands.  The sound I was looking for was a sort of atmospheric black metal with folk elements, something that reminded me of nature but still had a dark side.  And that search led me to Glasgow's Saor.

This album is full of haunting, sweeping melodies that can go down a more traditional black metal path at a moment's notice.  The opening title track is a perfect example of this as it features impressive tremolo riffing and blast beats on top of some beautiful lilting melodies.  "Monadh" starts off with a stirring piano solo and leads into some heavy use of wind instruments and strings.  These are the folk elements that meld well into Saor's brand of Drudkh-esque atmospheric black metal.

The vocals, when they are present, are often performed in a typical black metal rasp, but they are absolutely never the focal point.  They are often buried deep in the mix.  Saor is one of those bands that might just be more effective as an instrumental band, honestly.  The vocals really do not matter much at all, other than to add one more undeniably metal element to the sound.  It just is not totally necessary.

I definitely got what I was seeking when I picked up this album.  It is an absolutely beautiful sound that Saor pulls off here.  It is metal enough to satisfy that side, yet melodic and emotional at the same time.  Definitely an impressive release.