Savn - Savn
This is the debut full-length release from Norway’s Savn, a group composed of ex-The Sins of Thy Beloved members (Stig Johansen and Anders Thue, though Anders was only a live musician) and Carmen Elise Espenaes (the sister of ex-Theater of Tragedy member Liv Kristine, who guests on the song “I Am Free”) of Midnattsol. Their only other release to date is the single for “Hang On,” though if you own this, you’re not missing anything because both of the tracks from the single appear on this album. If the more lightweight material from The Sins of Thy Beloved is your cup of tea, Savn will definitely appeal to you. Right off the bat, I noticed that the music here wasn’t exactly intense or brutal. It’s essentially Gothic Metal that’s heavy on the “Gothic” and light on the “Metal” to the point where it almost sounds like the Metal parts were an afterthought. Even then, the riffing could easily qualify as Goth Rock. The guitar’s aren’t even prominent, being that the music is primarily keyboard and vocal-driven. I had hoped that this would be darker and more Doom-influenced than The Sins of Thy Beloved but given what’s here, it’s all sunshine and daisies compared to the new Lacuna Coil - and if you’re a Metal band, that’s bad news. Lacuna Coil isn’t exactly My Dying Bride, and if you’re not darker or heavier than they are, you may as well get some Techno/Industrial drum beats and start singing about how your job selling My Little Pony T-shirts at Hot Topic makes you feel all emo. The music doesn’t suck, but when you’re marketing to a Metal audience, it’s not exactly what most Metal fans are looking for. We want dark and heavy music, and Savn really doesn’t go there very often. It’s symphonic and atmospheric the way good Gothic Metal should be, but it’s just too lightweight. My recommendation to the band is to go darker and heavier. The band members have the skills to do it, which disappoints me a bit more than if they were a bunch of new kids. Dr. Ychoril prescribes old My Dying Bride, Mourning Beloveth and Eye of Solitude LPs in large quantity, all of which should give object lessons in what “dark” and “heavy” mean.
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