ALBUM REVIEW: Born Demon – SAHG
With 16 years and five albums under their belt, SAHG could be forgiven for taking things a bit easy and look to release a straightforward album for number six; something that would encapsulate them as they are without looking to break new ground. However, a cursory glance at their earlier works would indicate that this is a band that don’t rest on their laurels. Development and evolution are key to their doom-laced metal and this time they have an extra catalyst for change in the form of a line-up alteration.
Operating with Olav Iversen as the key driving member, SAHG have been a four-piece for a long time with occasional line-up changes. However, the recent departure of guitarist Ole Walaunet left the band in quandary of how to continue forward. After a brief hiatus, the decision to press on as a three-piece has resulted in a slimmed down SAHG in both appearance and musical output. The remaining musicians have locked together to produce an album that focuses more on what it means to them to have fun in metal and have produced ten tracks that deliver shorter, more deliberate punches than what fans have previously become accustomed too.
Opener Fall Into The Fire offers up a NWOBHM-inspired tone and riff structure hooking you in from the first chord. While earlier albums have seen their sound rooted in fuzzier proto-metal and the sound of the late 70s, it appears that SAHG have decided to take flavours from the more bombastic heavy metal sounds of the 80s. The marriage of these stylistic influences has created an album that rolls along at a fair pace. Tracks such as the aforementioned opener, House Of Worship, Born Demon and Heksedans have anthemic qualities to them while still retaining a suitably doomy edge that ties them in with the likes of Descendants Of The Devil and Salvation Damnation.
Born Demon presents a unified atmosphere across all the tracks it has to offer, while the blending of formats allows for each song to stand apart from another. As the band lean towards various elements, some tracks present catchier, more riff-driven numbers while others focus more on the rhythmic progression and powerful drum grooves to provide the punch. There is something for everyone who has followed their 16-year career thus far with elements of past releases falling into place neatly and combined with something fresh to breath life into the new album.
A word of caution though. While there are undoubted highlights peppered liberally throughout Born Demon, there are times when it can feel a bit of a trudge. There are moments where the album feels like it loses its path. That’s not to say that there is too much padding, all of the tracks fall well under five minutes therefore moving along nicely. It’s that the high points are not always connected smoothly and some tracks become overshadowed and forgettable. This is a shame as there aren’t necessarily exact moments that can be highlighted as filler, there’s just a spark missing that stops this from being a truly great album.
Rating: 7/10
Born Demon is set for release on October 21st via Drakkar Entertainment.
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