New Zealanders Sojourner return with their third studio album Premonitions.
Opener “The Monolith” is incredibly haunting with its combination of piano and Chloe Bray’s ethereal vocals, while “Eulogy for the Lost” is sorrowful yet strangely alluring with Emilio Crespo’s growls.
The combination of both vocal styles really stands out on “The Apocalyptic Theater” and has to be my favourite track on the album followed closely by the most melodic (and shortest) track “Talas”. Incredibly powerful, this one will absolutely hit you in the feels – guaranteed.
From the gentleness of the previous track, the band then produce an eight and half minute monster in “Fatal Frame”. I particularly enjoyed the guitar parts on this track. “The Deluge” slows down the pace once more but still maintains some sense of ferocity.
I found penultimate track “Atonement” the most diverse on the album and particularly enjoyed the tin whistle. Finally, Premonitions finishes with “The Event Horizon”, as wonderfully complex as it is compelling and it left me feeling that I had experienced a broader musical territory.
The album is undeniably beautiful with its blend of both folk and atmospheric black metal mixed with the right amount of sorrow.
Premonitions was recorded, produced and engineered by Mike Lamb at Oneiros Studio in Dundee, Scotland and was mixed and mastered by Øystein G. Brun at Crosound Studio in Bergen, Norway
Cover artwork by Sebastian Luca
Header photo by Katrina Watt
Premonitions will be released on May 8th via Napalm Records. Order it on Amazon to help support this site.
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