Sargeist - Satanic Black Devotion

Sargeist - Satanic Black Devotion

 

 

Satanic Black Devotion is Sargeist’s debut album and was released in 2003 by Moribund Records. This album is of the black metal genre but some may call it raw black metal. Sargeist is renowned to be one of the best Black metal bands out there that have only come onto the scene within the last decade. Their sound is very unique because although they are a raw black band, their music has a certain feeling to it. It’s almost upbeat or even happy.

Sargeist is a great band that started out as a solo project, although this is the case it is now a three piece bands with members from Behexen and Horna. Although these two bands have a fairly generic black metal sound. Sargeist has a totally different approach to their music, they have taken the raw sound of early Darkthrone and combined with a pagany feel to it. The result of this is a dark yet happy sound. This album is really good because unlike other black metal bands that sound monotone and just straight up boring, this album has a mixture of moods, atmosphere and tempo. This is great because it what keeps this album from getting boring. That is what really makes Sargiest standout from the rest and is the very root of their success. Although they have members from other well know bands, it is very unclear where their influences of their sound has come from.

The best thing about this, is the sheer variety of sounds this album contains. There are parts where its just straight up raw black metal and there are other parts where they bring out the pagan elements and incorporate them into their music. Also they are played at different speeds with that have a different atmosphere. It’s this that really makes this album have some serious replay value that you can listen to what ever mood you are in.

Musically they have incorporated many different moods into a nice little package. They are very tight and well rounded. Also the recording quality if just right for a black metal band as well, it’s not too good that it wrecks the atmosphere and dark feeling but not so bad they it sounds like harsh sounds. Also the instruments are vell balanced, nothing is too over powering and nothing is drowned out. Not even the vocals are over powering. The pitch of the vocals are just right as well. It really fits in well with the intended mood of the music. Also the vocals have a sort of echo after each line, this makes the music seem even more dark and scary. Just like a raw black metal band should be.

The drumming is very good, it really guides the music’s tempo really well. Also it guides the music through the transitions without disrupting the momentum or atmosphere of the song. There is definitely a strong dark atmosphere in this album and the drumming doesn’t affect it one bit. Usually bands try to drown out or slow the pace of the drumming to keep the music sounding dark but Sargiest seems to continue to play at some high speeds and still have almost perfectly balanced both dark and pagan feelings in the music. This is really good because it doesn’t overpower the rest of the music and doesn’t seem out of place at all.

The guitar work in this album sounds fast paced at times and almost symphonic at times. Also the distortion they have used combined with the recoding quality has a folky sound to it. Surprisingly the recoding quality of the guitars are very high, this is really good because you can really hear their distinctive sounds. Also they have chosen not to make them sound high pitch like other raw black metal artists. This is really good because it keeps the music sounding balanced and smooth throughout the album. Not only that but they seem to have a more classic sound to their music. It sounds a lot like something that may have been written and recorded in the early to mid 90s.

Each track on this album has its own mood and atmosphere. This is really good because it gives the album as a whole higher replay value. There is also a mixture of happy feelings and darker feelings. Some sound happier than others, some sound darker and a lot scarier than the others. But the best songs have a balance of both in their music. The opening track Preludium is an intro. It sounds very scary, a mixture of echoing screams and humming which really sets the scene for the rest of the album. The next track and the opening song is the title track Satanic Black Devotion. It is one of tracks that have a mixture of good folk music and raw black metal. It keeps a fairly even pace throughout the whole song and is very smooth. Although it does sounds dark, the folk/pagan elements in the music give it a almost happy feeling to it. The track Black Fucking Murder is one of the darker tracks in the album. Although the majority of it is dark there is a short part at the start where it sounds happy and melodious. The track Glorification would have to be the standout track in the album. It combines everything these guys have to offer and puts it into a single track. It has great melodies, it constantly changes tempo throughout the song with smooth transitions and mixes the tow moods.

Although this is a really good album, it is not the perfect album. Firstly, the album sounds very plain. Even though there are a mixture of sounds, they all seem to be evenly weighted. This could be due to the type of recording they have used to create a darker affect. Even though they have different ways of bringing out the music, all the songs sound like they have the same sounds but they are just played in a different order. Also, the vocals sound exactly the same all the way throughout the whole album. Excecpt maybe in the track Frowning, Existing.  On Frowning, Existing the vocals sound very different. It is a totally different style to their usual vocals they are higher pitched. They sound more like Burzum’s vocals. It’s more of a high pitch shriek rather than a scream.

Overall this is a very good album. Not many people like bands that have appeared in the last decade but bands like Sargeist goes to show that there are still some people out there that are trying to recreate the older style of black metal and they are succeeding and it goes to show that people shouldn’t give up on finding something new. Most of the tracks sound very similar to each other but some standout more than the others. For people whole like the rawer and depressing kind of stuff I recommend the track Returning to Misery & Comfort, it has seems to be a little darker than the others, but it still has a really good feeling behind it. The track Black Fucking Murder also has this. But the standout track in the whole album would have to be Glorification. It mixes everything good about this band into a single song. Overall I give Satanic Black Devotion a 16/20. It’s not bad, it’s just that its seems to still be very generic.