You would think that by now most heavy metal bands would realize that Memento Mori is an album titled that's been used and abused way too many times, but apparently Norway's Sahg haven't yet gotten the memo. Thankfully, their brand new take on the idea that 'death is coming', complete with a haunting skull on the album cover, is a damn good one. You see, these guys have become masters at their craft, combining ominous doom with classic metal sounds as well as a healthy dose of psychedelic prog rock. Memento Mori sees them take their eclectic sound one step further, an album brimming with variety, keeping the listener constantly on their toes in anticipation of what might come next. The moody, doomy, proggy "Black Unicorn", with its rich instrumentation and loads of creepy atmosphere, leads into the upbeat and hard rocking "Devilspeed", a raging metal tune with a touch of punk attitude. Changing gears once again, "Take It to the Grave" offers up spooky occult styled metal, and "Silence The Machines" goes almost into melodic, symphonic hard rock/prog/metal territory, not unlike recent Ghost. To make sure you don't forget their doom beginnings, "Sanctimony" crushes with haunting Black Sabbath intensity, vocalist Olav Iversen sounding like a young Ozzy circa 1972, while both "Travellers of Space and Light" and "Blood of Oceans" embark on Mastodon styled progressive metal journeys, complete with twisting riffs, dynamic rhythms, and powerful vocals.
Outstanding stuff top to bottom, loaded with variety, and featuring kick ass musicianship & vocals, Memento Mori is another killer release from Sahg, a band who just seem to be firing on all cylinders with no end in sight of the of the creative juices that are pouring out of them. Recommended.
Track Listing
1. Black Unicorn
2. Devilspeed
3. Take It To The Grave
4. Silence The Machines
5. Sanctimony
6. (Praise The) Electric Sun
7. Travellers Of Space And Light
8. Blood Of Oceans
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