Saturnus: Veronika Decides To Die

The title alone will tell you that this record puts the death back into death metal, the doom into doom metal, and the darkness back into black metal.

But unlike so much low-budget doom metal these days Saturnus approaches the subject with sensitivity and a high standard of musicianship. There's no question that the band's style was deeply influenced by My Dying Bride and Anathema, but they are far from being a clone. They're more upbeat (okay, less downbeat), more approachable, and the song structures are more progressive - with tempo changes and style shifts, and it's a concept piece. It's loosely based on a similarly named novel by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. We understand that the book isn't from literature's top drawer, but it's a poignant subject and Saturnus handles it with a such delicate touch that - ironically - it wouldn't be surprising if the book is given a boost from the music. Listen to the ballad "All Alone". Not a note of doom or metal in there, yet it's elegantly dark, depressingly beautiful, and powerfully emotive.

There are clean vocals (not the album's strongest point, but respectable nonetheless), there's a deep, rich baritone growl that may be one of the album's stronger points, and there's spoken prose. But the two elements that contribute most impressively to the mournful ambience are the bluesy guitar, and the almost classically oriented piano. You'll hear many of death metal's standard elements here, and some of the chord sequences will be familiar, but there's more to Veronika Decides To Die. It's heartrendingly emotional, and that graceful piano playing off the slow, powerful guitar will put a lump in your throat. And that's the big discriminator between doom metal like Saturnus, and death or black metal. Doom metal is defined by its atmosphere- and in that respect Saturnus must be on the verge of trumping their mentors My Dying Bride.

This is the Danish sextet's Saturnus's third album, and their first since 2000. Let's hope they won't wait as long before releasing the next one - because unlike the book it describes, this record goes into the genre's top drawer.

Track Listing:
1. I Long
2. Pretend
3. Descending
4. Rain Wash Me
5. All Alone
6. Embraced by Darkness
7. To the Dreams
8. Murky Waters

Added: July 20th 2006
Reviewer: Duncan Glenday
Score:
Related Link: Saturnus's Web Site
Hits: 7098
Language: english

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