Saor
Guardians


4.5
superb

Review

by Gameofmetal EMERITUS
November 3rd, 2016 | 601 replies


Release Date: 2016 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Andy Marshall strikes a bullseye on the vein of Scottish black metal, and with it the glory.

No one has quite the same grasp on contemporary atmospheric black metal that Andy Marshall does, but that knowledge took time to reveal itself. Roots, released under former moniker Arsaidh, didn’t really do it, and perhaps little should be said of Falloch before it. But combined with the momentum of a name change to Saor, Marshall’s second effort Aura was like tossing a flash bang grenade into an eight year old’s Chuck E. Cheese birthday party. The sweeping grandeur of the celtic folk influenced black metal was a light in the darkness, capturing scale, climactic emotion, and measured songwriting in equal doses. To date it takes colossal name drops like Moonsorrow’s Havitetty or the self-titled Panopticon debut to convey the sheer quality of Saor’s magnum opus. Yet it’s an old, worn lesson not to count your eggs before they’ve hatched. Marshall spent a good chunk of the off time between Saor records developing a new project in Fuath, the tribute to both 90s second wave and modern lo fi black metal. However, it floundered somewhat in its celebration of its influences, and there was a realistic concern that perhaps Marshall only had one record of true brilliance in him. Guardians is a triumphant declaration that this is not so.

It’s almost like someone flips a creative switch when Marshall returns to his acclaimed Scottish metal brainchild. A startling authenticity arises (Marshall is a born and bred Scotsman after all), as well as an ecstatic joy that becomes a natural part of the music, a single intrinsic thread woven into the greater tapestry. If there was one sense to be found on Aura it was joyous triumph, the battle cry of the warrior Scot, celebratory tales of heroism told by fireside. That still reveals itself in Guardians, but there’s a pensive, melancholy take as well courtesy of the more generous callbacks to Marshall’s roots in the post-y variants of black metal. In many ways it’s his most varied selection of songs yet. It’s not entirely wrong to say it encompasses a lot of his life’s work, you can pick details out from all his recordings (though in Fuath’s case that only works to point out that each album cover happens to be blue, but I digress), but that doesn’t serve to define the purpose of Guardians. Like Aura it’s a celebration of his homeland, at least partially, and along the way Marshall continues to define the breadth of atmospheric black metal.

Where Aura was raw and uncouth in production and style, Guardians is a smoother affair. Part of this is the absence of Austin Lunn’s (of Panopticon fame) famously raucous drumwork and sound, replaced by session musician Bryan Hamilton’s talents. His material here is fine, it’s hard to criticize it except in that it doesn’t happen to be the veritable Lunn’s, whose touch is nigh impossible to top in the realm of black metal. The guitars are considerably smoother as well, but not to the point that it steals any effect, sliding in alongside Marshall’s ever present strings, fiddles, and bagpipes effortlessly. That’s not to say they necessarily complement each other better than in the past, in fact the rawer instruments fit nicely next to those bagpipe melodies on Aura in a strangely authentic way, feeling almost a part of Scottish history. But there’s a slightly more accessible slant, without losing even an iota of strength, that’s quite welcome.

The songs here stand up impeccably well next to Aura’s to boot, even on just the first listen or two and after five or six they only stand to earn more admiration. The opening pair, and prerelease singles, “Guardians” and “The Declaration” are superb tracks in their own right. The curiously technical noodling in the middle of the former fits surprisingly well within the more traditional stylings of the track, while the mournful, vaguely primitive break (complete with a frickin’ Bodhran) near the end of the latter is lovely touch. But the three tracks comprising the rest of the album are stunners outright. “Autumn Rain” is a solemn beast, a tragedy full of swelling tremolos and wailing strings. By contrast, “Hearth” is the soundtrack to an epic warrior’s feast, beginning with bouncy, driving instruments and pursued by aggressive, distorted rhythms. Dashes of clean singing serve mostly to color the middle sections, not that they were in such dire need, but it’s another color to add to the palette. The acoustic build and final climax are one of Guardian’s finest moments, replete with emotion and power enough that the record could’ve been closed on it with nary a word of protest. Yet after the final moments of “Tears of a Nation” close out the album, one begins to wonder how it could have ended any other way. In a record full of music that is so very Scottish in its flavor, “Tears of a Nation” is the culmination of that influence. The primal melody that carries that last five minutes of the song is striking, it hits at the very heart of what Marshal aimed to do with Saor. Mournful and triumphant, despair and joy in harmony. Unforgettable, and no other word need be spoken.

Andy Marshall strikes a bullseye on the vein of Scottish black metal here, simultaneously proving that he had more than one record of brilliance in him. Guardians is an epic among epics just as Aura was, each finding an intrinsic electricity that never fails to excite. Atmospheric black metal seems to set a new bar every other year, if not every year, but Marshall skipped a few feet here. There is a new benchmark now and with luck it won’t be so long before it’s exceeded. My say? It wouldn’t be so bad to just lie and rest here with it for a while.



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user ratings (342)
3.9
excellent
other reviews of this album
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Comments:Add a Comment 
Gameofmetal
Emeritus
November 3rd 2016


11738 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

https://saor.bandcamp.com/album/guardians stop wasting your lives and jam this if you haven't. i was moved on my first listen, even more on my second, but im practically in a coma at this point. it has been ages since ive been this affected by music.



fuck



can also read here: https://expressions-of-interest.com/2016/11/09/saor-guardians/

ramon.
November 3rd 2016


4204 Comments


I loved Roots tbh. Moreso than Aura even. But yea, this album is very niiiice

Gameofmetal
Emeritus
November 3rd 2016


11738 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

I thought roots was awesome, i just dont think it has that spark that aura and this do

Rastapunk
November 3rd 2016


1584 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Holy shiiit awesome rev!!! Feat this mods!

Archelirion
November 3rd 2016


6594 Comments


Yeah, I preferred (and still prefer) Roots to Aura - thought it was absolutely gorgeous. But yeah, I really need to get this in my life. Excellent review by the way, I feel like I've got a reasonable grasp of how this'll sound already.

hogan900
November 3rd 2016


3332 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

If this is anywhere near as good as Aura, then this should be ace.

Great review man!

Edit: Two minutes in and those bagpipes 0_0

NutsDeepInGuts
November 3rd 2016


68 Comments


man bm (and all its subsidiaries) is just the greatest fkn genre hands down no questions asked innit

zaruyache
November 3rd 2016


27750 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

and with it the glory

hogan900
November 3rd 2016


3332 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Ya this is a winner

Gmork89
November 3rd 2016


8772 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Sooo damn good, people need to be talking about this more.

Gameofmetal
Emeritus
November 3rd 2016


11738 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

appreciate the kind words lads

SitruK6
November 3rd 2016


1388 Comments


Nice review dude!.

On a side note, i really need to listen to this band more often

Dedes
Contributing Reviewer
November 4th 2016


10551 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Awesome review, kind of wish I got one in sooner. But yeah this album was gorgeous, I would say maybe a small step down from Aura because I just loved the energy and vibrancy Austin Lunn had but I appreciate the diversity this bands trying to create in their repertoire.

Alastor
November 4th 2016


2152 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

another hard 4

manosg
Emeritus
November 4th 2016


12710 Comments


Need to check this one asap. Album cover brings the At the Heart of Winter and Tales From the Thousand Lakes vibes hard.

NutsDeepInGuts
November 4th 2016


68 Comments


shes a beauty alright

necropig
November 5th 2016


7440 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

https://www.facebook.com/saorofficial/videos/660329760816535/



haha what the fuck

InFlamesWeThrash666
November 5th 2016


10584 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Dunno why i haven't jammed this already

zaruyache
November 5th 2016


27750 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Prob bc you hate the Scottish. Racist.

InFlamesWeThrash666
November 5th 2016


10584 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I thought no one would notice,fuck



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