A new direction for Sojourner.
Ending several years of silence, Mike Lamb (guitar/keyboards, Light Field Reverie, Remina), Emilio Crespo (vocals, ex-Historian, ex-Nangilima), Riccardo Floridia (drums, Atlas Pain, Remina), Mike Wilson (bass, Miasmata), and Heike Langhans (vocals, Light Field Reverie, Remina, ex-Draconian) have signed with Avantgarde Music for the release of their new album, Gateways.
Dawnrays opens with a melancholic piano, but the thick, haunting rhythm section soon kicks in, lending the track a sense of weight and depth even before Emilio’s screams kick in, followed by Heike’s enchanting harmonies, which launch a contrasting yet complementary duet that is utterly sumptuous and captivating. The riffs carry both of their voices, just as on And the Paintings Fall, where the introduction immediately colors the sound and once again allows the two vocalists to respond to one another with heavier tones, as well as more soaring passages rooted in piercing Black Metal, especially on the lead guitar parts. The interlude gives us a moment to catch our breath before a much more Doom-oriented final, then we move right into Lunar Tear and its soothing tranquility which won’t last long too and is soon overshadowed by a much darker but equally addictive sound that builds with striking accelerations; however, the track is shorter, and it quickly runs out of steam to make way for Occultation, a track torn between a certain epic gentleness and the visceral rage of its darkness. The track flows naturally, letting us drift along with it throughout its duration toward Epitaphs, a familiar track that effortlessly enchants us with a grandiose, almost unreal and dreamlike touch, especially when Heike sings alone, but her counterpart quickly brings us back to brutal reality. The orchestrations of Vvardenfell foreshadow a more martial sound that takes no time at all to emerge, yet one that’s anchored in obvious and intoxicating folk roots, giving it a unique identity, but The Road Ahead will already bring this album to a close, first with the gentleness of a peaceful introduction, then with the arrival of a haunting distortion, letting the young woman steer the ship almost alone, offering us long moments of clean vocals before calling forth the screams to mark the end of the journey.
Sojourner’s absence was noticed, but his return is even more noticeable. Although the lineup has changed once again, the band’s spirit has remained intact, and it is with undisguised delight that Gateways transports us into its majestic world.
95/100
