Sojourner - Premonitions

Key Facts

Country: 🇸🇪/🇳🇿

Genre: Epic Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal

Release Date: 8th May 2020

Record Label(s): Napalm Records

Band Members

Mike Lamb - Guitars, Keyboards, Piano

Chloe Bray - Tin whistle, Vocals, Guitars

Emilio Crespo - Vocals

Mike Wilson - Bass

Riccardo Floridia - Drums

Scotty Lodge - Bass

Sojourner - The Deluge

Review

Rating (out of 5🤘): 🤘🤘🤘🤘

Favourite Track(s): The Event Horizon, Euology For The Lost, Fatal Frame, Atonement

Apart from having a huge, wise, prophetic looking Owl on the cover, Sojourner's latest effort Premonitions is an adventure into a mystical world that makes you think of vast scenery and fantastical landscapes gilded and glittered by sombre and thought provoking atmospheres. I'm a fairly new Sojourner fan, but from what I've heard up until this point I've enjoyed. The ornate mixing of black metal with huge sweeping melodies with a tin whistle that seems to float over all the ensuing chaos has always been quite interesting to me. With fantasy and nature themes throughout the music, this album could be a soundtrack to an epic quest across snow capped mountains and through towering valleys. 

Musically, despite it being and epic black metal record, I found it quite spiritually relaxing. There is something peacefully chaotic about the melodies floating over the chaotic guitars and drums underneath. If I was to draw comparisons to other artists, I get very strong Saor and Arx Atrata vibes from this album, just with more clean vocals. One of the main things I like about the album is the melancholic grandeur it has, it feels uplifting in some areas and quite a heartfelt pain in others. This contrast really adds to the dynamics of the music as it is reflected in the melodies and riffs. I think the song that signifies this to most with me is Fatal Frame, it has a deeply emotive riff and melody that resonates with me in multiple levels. The same can be said for The Deluge, with Chloe's vocals are mesmerising and haunting, carrying the melody over thundering rhythms laid down by the rest of the band. I also enjoy that there isn't anything too flashy in the album, everything is shown off but done in a very precise and creative way, so together all the elements are stronger as one than they are alone, this cohesiveness makes it for very blissful listening. The piano is a particular highlight as well, using it in slower sections to help build some of the tension and is almost a prelude to the song before the rest of the band come in. The song that I love the most though is the album close The Event Horizon, the song on its own is incredible but it also feels like a summarisation of everything that has gone before. Combing all the elements from the songs before it to make for a dramatic album closer. Overall, the album is incredibly well written and arranged to deliver maximum effect which will make you feel a multitude of emotions. 

The production is huge on the album! There is a very distinct use of space where every nook and cranny is filled with something but still feels spacious and open. With the synths and keyboard elements enveloping you from all sides and the bass and kick filling the low end chasm it makes for a great blend of texture. The drums are spaced out which adds to the enormousness of the mix, the kick it thick and weighty and the snare has a present but subtle snap that I really like. The bass tone sounds chunky and meaty, really locking in with the kick to bring this amazing power. The rhythm guitar tones have a really warm distortion to them but still sound aggressive, contrasting with the lead tones which seem lofty and float over the top of you. The piano mesmerises you and with the reverb and richness of the EQ helps it wash over you with a serine calmness. Overall the mix has really blown me away, combining a lot of elements that I personally love to find in an album, I'll have to take notes and apply it to some of my projects!

If you fancy a dose of epic black metal to see in the night, then give new Sojourner a spin! I feel like I've been on an epic adventure and will do it all again in a heartbeat!

Sojourner - Premonitions