Review Summary: It’s all about the atmosphere, baby.
Please excuse the nonchalant summary above, because to be honest Sed Non Satiata’s newest release is a serious affair. And why shouldn’t it be? After a series of successful splits and ever-amounting credibility in the European screamo scene, the band has crafted their most realized effort to date. “Realized” is perhaps the best work to describe the new self-titled album, too. On their split with Daitro, SNS made it utterly apparent that they had loads of talent in their French band. Even with language barrier, their emotion flowed through the music powerfully and clearly. On
Sed Non Satiata, listeners are lucky enough to become privy to a new side of the band, characterized mainly by newfound ambition, and near-flawless execution of the band realizing their potential. Ambition alone doesn’t prove anything though; it’s primarily Sed Non Satiata’s grandiose and excellent execution of creativity and atmosphere on
Sed Non Satiata that really separates it as a truly fantastic record.
There may only be five new tracks, but in this short period Sed Non Satiata proves that they haven’t lost any of their skill or talent from before. A strong sense of emotion is ever-apparent; and while you could say that this is an accepted staple of the genre, I would have to differ, for Sed Non Satiata truly diverges from the pack. Screaming, yelling, shouting, the vocals are astonishing throughout. The singer seems to even be showing off a little... like he knows exactly how fantastic he’s honed his craft. The production of the album allows for well-defined moments, where listeners can detect every blemish, every nuance of the passionate cries- and yet they remain, for the vast majority, simply flawless. While others in the genre may display their superior talent (i.e. Matt Smith, ) the vocals on
Sed Non Satiata are particularly outstanding. The SNS singer has truly honed his screaming, particularly showing outstanding effort with his ability to convey emotion, tenseness, an urgency. Most importantly though, the timbre and skill of his emotional vocal prowess is so well buttressed by the superb atmosphere that is delicately crafter on
Sed Non Satiata.
Of course there’s incredible post-rock build-ups. As standard as they may be, it’s impossible to ignore the way they support every other facet of the music so well. Of course there’s epic build-ups, and as expected as they may be they still accomplish their job, to bring a sense of grandiosity to
Sed Non Satiata, exceedingly adeptly. Yet, what becomes noticeable after many listens is the compatibility of these aspects, along with virtually every little crevasse of the album. Accumulated together, Sed Non Satiata fashions wonderfully detailed, and most of all engrossing, atmosphere. It’s the air of tense heaviness and passion that derives from the taut guitar lines and free-ranging, spine-tingling build-ups that truly separate
Sed Non Satiata, from both the rest of their discography and screamo as a whole.
In essence,
Sed Non Satiata is the band’s potential fully realized, a truly gratifying experience to listen to for both old fans and new listeners. It’s fulfilling to hear the band construct a album that feels truly complete. As fantastic as the split with Daitro is, it can’t truly be considered “Sed Non Satiata’s” seeing as it was so dependent on the other side of the record. The manner in which SNS incorporate their passion so naturally into a more creative, free-flowing, post-rock approach; and Sed Non Satiata never fail to keep things interesting, whether it’s adding a near-ambient section or even an acoustic passage. In a mere 5 songs, Sed Non Satiata solidy exactly why they’re at the tippy-top of the screamo scene in 2010; and it’s no longer appropriate to refer to Sed Non Satiata as the pinnacle of European screamo. No, an album like
Sed Non Satiata erases any doubt from the minds of listeners that the band deserves a mention among screamo’s best... but definitely worldwide now.
