Style: folk black metal, progressive black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Panopticon, Agalloch, Primordial, Wolves in the Throne Room
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 7 February 2025
Romanticism breeds nationalism. The Romantic focus on emotion, individualism, and mysticism directly fomented a sense of collective cultural heritage to form the basis of the nation as we know it. I have long argued that black metal is a form of modern Romanticism (although that take is certainly not unique to me), and, thus, it is clearer why folk music and black metal have such a synergistic fusion. Black metal’s philosophy centers around individualism, yes, but also around pride for one’s cultural and national identity: if you look at any but the most remote corners of the globe, there will be a black metal band, and the odds are if they aren’t mediocre second-wave worship, they somehow inject their local music traditions into their sound. Black metal functions as a template for folk music of any kind to be amplified, indiscriminate and accessible. If we turn to Scotland, the nation’s traditions cry of bagpipes and of whistles, and on Andy Marshall’s sixth album over a decade into his career as Saor, the sounds of the Scots mix with stunning atmospheric black metal to become the Caledonian black metal band.
Each track on Amidst the Ruins is a meandering journey, covering Lowlands and Highlands, isles and farmland. Apart from the folk piece “The Sylvan Embrace,” the songs all top the 11:30 mark, and they fly by despite their length. Saor’s had a consistent formula for songwriting that’s worked since 2013, and he hasn’t changed it much this time—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Three of the four black metal tracks begin with a similar deluge of tremeloes and blast beats, exploding in vibrant sylvan shades of green. Underpinning the triumphant black metal and the oft Celtic guitar melodies is resonant bass and, this time around, a full string trio of violin, viola, and cello. The metallic core of Amidst the Ruins is epic and melodic, but the true magic happens in the perennial shifts from tumbling black metal to Caledonian folk music—or similarly when the guitar trades off from the lead melody, allowing the tin whistle, low whistle, or Uilleann pipes to conduct the song. Those moments constitute the hallmark of Saor’s sound, and all four tracks are chock full of them.
Lyrically, Amidst the Ruins is a tale of hope, of rising from the ashes and rebuilding. Performed through a mix of standard melodic black metal rasps—I think a good touchstone is Malo Civelli of Cân Bardd—with powerfully belted clean, often dueted, choruses, the message of Amidst the Ruins is powerful, and the music’s swelling climaxes and fatherland aesthetics complement the defiance in the face of ruin. Saor aren’t afraid to get pensive, though, and the extended neofolk track “The Sylvan Embrace” is heartfelt and much moodier than the surrounding metal’s saccharine chord progressions and sweet sweet melodies. Featuring whispered vocals, cello, and gentle acoustic guitars that scream “Agalloch!,” the song is essential to Amidst the Ruins, and I almost wish it were up one more spot in the tracklist to bisect the album since the four black metal tracks all play to a similar mood.
While the pastoral epics like bookending tracks “Amidst the Ruins” and “Rebirth” are thoughtfully composed, stunning, and easy to listen to, I have to mention that the Caledonian aesthetic isn’t as fundamental to the sound as it is to the band’s identity. Rather than incorporating traditional Scottish melodies and technique into the composition itself, it’s superimposed onto a folk black metal blueprint (a damn good one, at least). If I changed the whistles and pipes to bluegrass, I’d have middle-era Panopticon; to dungeon-synthy keys and flutes I’d get Summoning; and to a more simple, sparse woodsiness, I’d have a great Cascadian black metal band. Andy Marshall is an excellent composer and neither gimmicky nor derivative, but I long for a deeper Scottish-ness to the music: Amidst the Ruins is top-shelf atmospheric black metal with entertaining folk inclusions, but for a band positioning itself as so steeped in tradition, I’d like to see that as a more integral part of the sound from the very beginning of the process.
At this point, Saor are a folk black metal institution, and you know each new album will be quality stuff, the winding, progressive tracks easy to get swept away in. Although not the most ground-breaking release in his catalog, Saor’s sixth album is magnificent and foreboding. Amidst the Ruins is so wonderfully evocative with its musical storytelling even the English will find something to love here.
Recommended tracks: Amidst the Ruins, The Sylvan Embrace, Rebirth
You may also like: Gallowbraid, Cân Bardd, Thrawsunblat, Fellwarden
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Season of Mist – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website
Saor is:
Andy Marshall (everything)
Ella Zlotos – Female Vocals, Tin Whistles, Low Whistles, Uilleann Pipes
Carlos Vivas – Drums
Jo Quail – Cello & FX on “The Sylvan Embrace”
Àngela Moya Serrat – Violin on “Amidst the Ruins”, “Echoes of the Ancient Land” & “Rebirth”
Miguel Izquierdo – Viola on “Amidst the Ruins”, “Echoes of the Ancient Land” & “Rebirth”
Samuel C. Ledesma – Cello on “Amidst the Ruins”, “Echoes of the Ancient Land” & “Rebirth”
