Sagor:
Tracklisting
1.Prolog
2.Gigantos
3.Epos
4.Awen
5.El
Monstro
6.Odjuret
7.Flod
8.Squidman
9.Mothra
10.Epilog
Band
Members:
Robert
Lamu – vocals, guitar
Henrik
Grüttner – guitars, backing vocals
Tim
Ångström – bass guitar, backing vocals
Martin
Larsson - drums
Review:
When
I hear a band for the first time and I can't pigeon-hole them that is
THE sign for greatness, if you ask me. Obviously, there are bits and
pieces that evoke similarities of other bands in any album, but if
those parts are secondary to the big picture, you'll have a
one-of-a-kind wax in your hands. And that's exactly the case with
Sweden's Skraeckoedlan and their second full-length, 'Sagor', which
was released recently. Since I had only heard of the band and never
actually listened to their music, playing 'Sagor' for the first time
was mind altering. And that hasn't changed one bit as I'm unable to
stop playing it.
A
heavy sonic barrage erupts the very second I press play. Finding
myself knocked to the ground, I slowly make it back up to standing
position. Still shook up by what’s happening, the immense beauty
Sckraeckoedlan emanates, quickly envelopes me and everything is
resolved and I have finally found enlightenment. Before I know it,
the uppercut that is the instrumental opener ‘Prolog’ is over and
the trippy, pummelling monster ‘Gigantos’ takes over. More
elaborate and a fantastic ebb and flow to tempos while sung in
Swedish, is what makes this song a monster in the best possible way.
The guys are amazing musicians but instead of masturbating with their
respective instruments, they know how to write excellent and
captivating songs which results in an album of epic proportions, as
with ‘Sagor’. ‘Epos’ follows and while the band retains their
trademarked heavy pummelling, this one is slightly, albeit very
marginally, slower. It is very clear, especially on this one, that
Skraeckoedlan has a great knack for building up songs and let them
increase in speed and power until you’re sucked into a vortex of
holy-fuck! ‘Awen’ is a short in-your-face instrumental piece that
kind of acts as an intro to ‘El Monstro’. A trip and a half
indeed where I find myself floating around outer space to this
psychedelic soundtrack. Robert Lamu takes a step back as guest
vocalist Matilda Mård takes the center stage. Her performance is top
notch as her delicate touch in parallel with Skraeckoedlan’s sonic
onslaught leaves me breathless.
Eerie
and claustrophobic ‘Odjuret’ slithers and crawls out from the
depths of the deep oceans – read hell – before causing havoc and
madness. Again, they keep the music at mid-tempo while building up
the pace and the atmosphere and it works fantastically well. ‘Flod’
follows is the most straightforward rocker on the album, in lack of
better words. Albeit not fast the structure of it is what makes it
more of a rocker in my opinion. ‘Squidman’ is mainly instrumental
with the exception of some sampled voices throughout. Soaring, spacey
guitars playing on top of some exceptional bass and drum work with a
deft switching between tempos, makes this my favourite track on
‘Sagor’ alongside ‘El Monstro’. Speeding things up slightly,
‘Mothra’ is another mind-altering songs the band has created. The
bridges are crushing while the verses brings out a very nice
experimental side of Skraeckoedlan. The album ends in full
psychedelic fashion with ‘Epilog’. Trippy, meditative and out
there, the band couldn’t have opted for a better way to tie the
album together and get full closure.
I
know I should already have checked these guys when their debut
‘Äppelträdet’ came out but I didn’t. But that doesn’t
matter, since I finally got around to it with this, their sophomore
release…and I am so sold on my fellow Swedes. So I urge you all to
explore the fantastic world Skraeckoedlan has created. Don’t miss
out, you hear!
Words
by Håkan Nyman
Links:
