Album Review: Saor – Amidst the Ruins (Season of Mist)

Saor, the beloved Caledonian atmospheric and folk black metal band returns with their much-anticipated new album, ‘Amidst the Ruins’, out on February 7th, 2025.

Five tracks and nearly an hour of music. If that doesn’t get you excited about this new Saor release, nothing will. Though that isn’t to suggest their quality is measured in song length, but they are a band known for their wandering and broad song structure that encapsulate the vastness of Scotland’s landscapes and its extensive heritage.

Only through multiple listens, across different time frames, different moods, a willingness to be patient and give it time investment, can a track like Amidst the Ruins be fully appreciated. It is every bit the epic long-term listeners would hope it to be, and then some. Opening with a masterpiece of melancholic and atmospheric blackened metal that captures the untamed beauty of Caledonia as only Saor can. It is nearly 13-minutes long, and not a single second is wasted.

The meticulous attention to detail, the intense melding of metal and melody, and thrilling tone switches leaves nothing but feelings of joy. This is the beauty of Saor, the beauty of folk, the beauty of metal, the beauty of deep atmosphere, and the beauty of Scotland. Yet, even then, there’s a deeper melodic focus to this track that gives it a cinematic feel.

Take a very deep breath, there’s so much more wonder to come, and Echoes of the Ancient Land arrives in explosive style. It’s a black start with a very fiery pace that delicately slides into a deeper folk melody focused segment with layers of orchestral grandness. From there, it just grows and grows in stature, with cleaning singing dominating for a while, and the more recognisable metal instruments alternating between heavier and wilder eruptions and detailed progressively tinged rhythms. This is a track that can be simply summed up as an immense showcase of familiar Soar power and poise, especially as the latter half is so emotionally affecting.

The brilliance continues with Glen of Sorrow as echoing melody and ringing guitar tones set a dark and mournful scene. Yet, as this one begins to develop, the folk and metal combines in spectacular style. Daringly putting the tin whistle front and centre (Ella Zlotos is so talented and does some haunting singing on this one) for a period, and then after minutes of this, brings the weight of epic black metal down upon heads. This might be one of the more accessible tracks on the album from a structural standpoint, but be under no false impressions, it is another gargantuan Saor effort that ebbs and flows, rises and falls, and delivers a journey like no other.

Then there is The Sylvan Embrace, a track that is as beautiful as it is soothing. A track focused almost entirely on melody and featuring the immense talents of Jo Quail (Cello & FX). As far as harmony goes, this might be the excessive example of a track you can sink into.

Finally, it’s the longest track of all, Rebirth, and for many, it will be the grandest. This is because it showcases everything that makes this band, and this album, so special. Not just the talents of Andy Marshall, the force behind Saor, but because of the guests who help make the intangible, tangible. Impossibly savage in places, immensely melodic in others, extravagantly combined with classical instruments, and so much more. It is every bit the epic, yet it never feels too much. Saor’s ability to ground this sound, putting us in the glens and highlands, while deftly adding mystical properties, is untouchable, and this track is the summation of that.

Saor – Amidst the Ruins Track Listing:

1. Amidst the Ruins
2. Echoes of the Ancient Land
3. Glen of Sorrow
4. The Sylvan Embrace
5. Rebirth

Links

Website | Store | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram