Sigir finally unveils their debut album, Rainmaker.
Formed in 2019 by Viljami Toikkanen (guitar/vocals), Eetu Pennanen (drums) and Paavo Luttinen (bass), the band released a debut EP (some re-recorded tracks are included) before welcoming Valtteri Pitkänen (guitar), then signing to Gramophone Records.
The musicians called on Petri Alanko of the Finnish Chamber Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra for orchestrations.
The album opens with eponymous track Rainmaker, which immediately sets the raw power of Melodic Death against a backdrop of heady Folk influences. The warlike howls are never far away on this furious charge, which allows itself a few more elaborate passages thanks to the orchestrations, then The Lantern returns to sharp tones, accentuating the contrast with the enchanting additions that accompany them again. Riffs remain jerky but catchy, occasionally letting the musicians slow down to place slightly calmer and more unifying parts, while Depraved allows us a brief moment of floating before the impressive rhythm appears. Melodies and howls meet on this haunting ground, but the band will offer a choppy acceleration followed by a more soothing final, then The Offering joins rage again by immediately charging in, still offering us a few slower parts to contemplate the coldness. Dissonance and peaks of energy take turns, then the sound becomes impressive again with Oath and its massive rhythm coupled with crazy leads, which easily testify to their Finnish roots. We have a solo borrowed from their Heavy roots, but the track remains just as aggressive and grandiose thanks to its keyboards, while From Time To Eternity is more heady, starting out rather slowly before its craggy rhythm wreaks havoc on the enchanting atmosphere, naturally giving it aggressive spikes to contrast with the quasi-esoteric quietude. The album comes to a close with Enter, a rather Old School track that offsets its virulence with keyboards, creating an extremely effective surge that will appeal as much to fans of relentless violence as to those who prefer more epic passages.
With Rainmaker, Sigir combines its two facets. The raw violence of aggressive jerky riffs meets epic, majestic orchestration to create a cold and worked wall of sound, but it’s above all extremely addictive.
85/100