Saille – Ritu (2013)

As the first promo of 2013 we received at Infernal Masquerade, we are quite surprised that we immediately have an early candidate for Symphonic Black Metal release of the year 2013. Saille makes a furious return with “Ritu”, an opus in melodic aggression that reminded us of the days when Dimmu Borgir was not ridiculously overproduced and of bands like Vesperian Sorrow, that keep the flame of Symphonic BM alive. With nine tracks presented in this release, this outfit from Belgium delivers one of the most impressive sophomore releases we have ever heard.

Opening with the bombastic “Blood Libel”, the band immediately unleashes their furious Black Metal riffing and killer drumming. The band’s sound reminded us a bit of Anorexia Nervosa and their balls to the wall style. The lush keyboards greatly enhance this vicious track, creating a very eerie atmosphere. In a very maquiavelic style, “Subcutaneous Terror” delivers a very catchy mixture of creepy slow passages and brutal aggressive sections with sick guitar solos. This song reminded us when Dimmu Borgir in their “Enthroned Darkness Triumphant” era.

The band’s use of different vocal styles creates a very eerie effect thought this release, like on the slow paced “Fhtagn”, a track that sounds like a demonic invocation. Filling their songs with creepy atmospheric elements with string instruments (or a synth), tracks like “Upon The Idol of Crona” and “Haunter of the Dark” are made very memorable due to the crafty little details they include. One of our favorite tracks is the very ‘neo-classical’ “Sati” and its excellent flowing melodic sections that suddenly convert into Doom-esque interludes mixed with furious BM passages.

Further exploring their sound, our favorite track is “Runajod”, a song that perfectly flows from an aggressive opening into shiver-inducing ethereal passage with female vocals, and back into blistering BM passages before a very dramatic ending. The closer “Ritual Descent” provides one last lesson in crafting lush symphonic atmospheric elements into punishing Black Metal tracks.

Greatly improving over their debut full-length, Saille is a band that will surely turn a great amount of heads when people listen to this majestic opus. With great skill and diversity, the band manages to deliver nine tracks that will keep any fan of the genre entertained for days on end. If you are looking for an excellent Symphonic Black Metal release that will blow you away, “Ritu” is that album, so save all your x-mas money and wait for this release in January 2013.

Release: January 18th, 2013

Genre: Symphonic Black Metal

Country: Belgium