Sargassus - The Albatross

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: Digital

Release Date: 19 Jan 2022

Tracklist:

1. Stepping Out Of Time

2. Canine Passage

3. The Albatross

I've had a couple of days off to focus on the usual life stuff and I've been itching to get back to writing again. When I sat down to plan my current review schedule a couple of weeks ago, I knew I wanted to throw some different things into the mix (alongside my ongoing Zegema Beach Records and Dry Cough Records reviews) and along came Finnish prog/post/black metal band Sargassus and their 2022 EP The Albatross. Sargassus released their first EP The Giant back in 2020, before the pandemic truly took hold. They released the single 'Tiamat' during 2021 before the latest self-released EP saw the light of day in January.

As with almost every other Finnish band I’ve ever featured on the blog, Sargassus are a difficult one to pin down. Initially very much a black metal influenced band on EP opener ‘Stepping Out Of Time’, there’s something more avant-garde about their sound. The drums and guitars provide time-signatures that range from straight-forward (and perfect for icy black metal) to more progressive/off-kilter tempos. Sorry I couldn’t pluck actual numbers out of the air for illustrative purposes here, I’m not musically gifted. The vocals are very much out of the black/death stable though.

‘Canine Passage’ is less straightforward, allowing Sargassus to stretch themselves musically and shake off some of the black metal image that the EP’s opener portrays, especially when the clean vocals take over later in the song. It certainly underlines their ability both instrumentally and vocally. No need for sub-genre pigeonholes here, though you’ll probably say I’ve tried!

As the EP’s title track The Albatross begins with it’s striking guitar-work, I realise that the glass of red wine acting as my companion is going down rather well and like a fine wine, Sargassus are going down just the same. There are musical comparisons afoot when listening to them, but I’m not going to waste valuable time writing about that here. This quartet are still finding their feet but this is a very polished and impressive EP, which will only do their longevity the world of good.

I never grow tired of enthusing about bands and their music here, which is why I’m still writing and posting things twelve years on (oops, I forgot about the blog’s anniversary again!). Sargassus are fantastic and also slightly teasing us with their recorded output so far. Here’s hoping a full-length appears on the horizon soon.

You can stream and purchase The Albatross digitally below:-

Sargassus - https://www.facebook.com/sargassusband/