Entry 160 - Saor - Forgotten Paths

 

Using folk instruments in metal can easily fall into gimmick territory. It's exceedingly easy to write some lazy riffs and play a fiddle or accordion or tin whistle over top.

It takes something pretty special to incorporate these instruments in a way that I will truly enjoy them. Enter Saor.

Saor at their base is a melodic black metal band with a huge helping of atmosphere. Even before adding in any of the folk instrumentation there is a solid base to the music. This would sound well above average without their inclusion.

That said the inclusion both a violin, bagpipes, a piano, a flute, and a harp bring the music to the next level. The music already has a majestic and ethereal tone to it - but when a mournful violin melody is played in conjunction with it the music gives me goosebumps.

The first two tracks on here - Forgotten Paths and Monadh - exemplify everything that I love in melodic black metal. They are long (well over the 10 minute mark) and never once overstay their welcome.

While different in scope, they both contain moments where the metal is stripped away and the folk instrumentation is allowed to shine. When the metal does return it does so in such a triumphant fashion that the emotional impact is nearly overwhelming.

This is Saor's shortest album. It makes the most out of the time given, and often warrants at least two to three spins from me any given day that this album hits the turntable. This is easily one of the strongest records that I have heard in the folk metal genre.