Saturnus – Saturn In Ascension (2012)

Finally!! after six years since their last release, Saturnus returns with their latest masterpiece of Melancholic Death/Doom Metal titled “Saturn In Ascension”. Featuring eight tracks, this release will only help the band elevate their legendary status as the best band of their genre. With a mixture of the elements that have made this band’s musical trajectory impeccable, the songs in this release deliver high doses of raw emotions transmitted by truly melancholic music.

Opening with the crushing “Litany of Rain”, the band reminded us of their “Paradise Belongs To You” era with a straightforward growl fest filled with emotional riffing. The characteristic vocals of Thomas Akim Grønbæk Jensen really set the band apart from the rest and his mixture of growls and clean sections work wonders in this nearly 10-minute epic.

Following up and excellent opener, we have the already famous “Wind Torn”, a track that the band has been playing live for quite a while now. This is one of our favorite songs of the band thanks to the penetrating weeping guitars and the overall majestic atmosphere it has. After surreal 8-minute piece folk-ish acoustic “A Lonely Passage” again brought us memories of similar tracks in “Paradise Belongs To You”, chilling memories indeed but with the inclusion of Laurie Ann Haus enchanting vocals.

“A Fathers Providence” has a bit more of a Gothic Doom vibe to it with prominent keyboards and a Saturnus “Martyr”-esque vibe. The slow and painful Doom mode is brilliantly back with “Morning Sun”, another prime example on how to do Doom riffs the right way. Clocking in at 10 minutes, we can’t get enough of this majestic track and its slow evolution. The neo-folkish “Call of The Raven Moon” reminded us of one of our favorite songs from the band “For Your Demons” and its eerie clam atmosphere.

Following up with more intense riffing, “Forest of Insomnia” is your quintessential Death/Doom track filled with epic growls. The subtle atmospheric elements in this song, and the release in general, have greatly made “Saturn In Ascension” an excellent album for atmosphere loving Doomsters. Our second favorite track in this release is the monumental “Between” and its 11-minutes of sheer glory. The tempo changes that break sections between heavy guitar work and acoustic passages are top notch indeed. But it’s the cello bit that really takes this song over the top adding a superb dramatic feeling to it. As the official closer of the regular version of this album, this is truly an epic song.

Being huge fans of the band, “Saturn In Ascension” is just one hell of a release that was definitely worth the six years wait. The band is at the top of their game and albums as appealing as this one are rare to come by, so don’t be afraid and pull the trigger on a pre-order of this gem. If you are a fan of Death/Doom Metal and like a hefty dose of melodic and atmospheric elements thrown into the mix, and by whatever strange reason you don’t know who Saturnus is, this is the best release your money can buy.

Release: November 30th, 2012

Genre: Melodic Death/Doom Metal

Country: Denmark