Saturnus is back.
Following the release of their last EP in 2022, the band formed in 1991 under the name Asesino, changing its name in 1993, and made up of Brian Pomy Hansen (bass), Thomas A. G. Jensen (vocals), Henrik Glass (drums), Mika Filborne (keyboards), Indee Rehal-Sagoo (guitar) and Julio Fernandez (guitar), ends their ten-year wait by announcing the release of their fifth album, The Storm Within, on Prophecy Productions in 2023.
The band’s opening track, The Storm Within, begins with a spellbinding air of melody, before saturation and massive screams join the haunting march. Melancholic clean parts soothe the rage while strengthening its impact, leaving the heady melodies to lead to Chasing Ghosts and its dark harmonies. Once again, the contrast between the two facets of the band’s universe is as intense as necessary, while the vocalist offers powerful growls and comforting clean vocals to accompany the seizing lament, before The Calling offers us a more vivid rhythm. The tones are almost playful, slowing down at times to plunge us back into a soaring melancholy before breaking off in the middle of the track and finally letting leads guide us to Even Tide and its very light keyboards, which let clean vocals accompany them. A few violins join the gentle composition, which remains anchored in the purest quietness before being broken by the ominous sounds of Closing The Circle, followed by its hellish heaviness completed by heady leads. Vocal parts haunt the slow and weighing riffs, sometimes giving them frightening or majestic accents, before giving way to Breathe New Life and its slightly rawer, disquieting approach, felt both in piercing leads which remain magnificent, and in the catchy rhythm. The sadness resurfaces with Truth, the final composition, which lets keyboards lead the first part before welcoming saturated parts to weigh the mix down, but also an epic heavy-influenced solo before the sound gradually fades out.
The Storm Within isn’t just another Melodic Doom/Death album, it’s the very essence of melancholy, perfectly blending intensity, rage and darkness through contrasting compositions. We missed you, Saturnus.
95/100