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/:: Artist :: Sahg ::\
:: Album :: Delusions of Grandeur ::
:: Year :: 2013 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Indie Recordings R.date :: 25.10.2013 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: INDIE098CD Size :: 92,0 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 276kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://www.sahg.no/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Slip Off the Edge of the Universe 05:55 ::
:: 02. Blizzardborne 05:37 ::
:: 03. Firechild 05:11 ::
:: 04. Walls of Delusion 06:28 ::
:: 05. Ether 05:10 ::
:: 06. Then Wakens the Beast 04:43 ::
:: 07. Odium Delirium 02:33 ::
:: 08. Sleeper's Gate to the Galaxy 11:18 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 46:55 min ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Though the band name may suggest otherwise, Sahg have not ::
:: one little bit in common with extreme metal. Sure, many ::
:: will merely discover that the band's country of origin is ::
:: none other than Norway and think to themselves "CVLT BLACK ::
:: METAL", but one listen to "Slip off the edge of the ::
:: universe", the opening track to the band's latest album ::
:: Delusions of grandeur, and those first-glance genre ::
:: boundaries will be quashed immediately. ::
:: ::
:: Sahg have been active for nine years, with four albums to ::
:: their name, yet their presence in the world of rock or ::
:: indeed metal doesn't seem to have been recognized by many. ::
:: No surprise then, given the band's choice of content for ::
:: the majority of their songs. That is, the feeling of ::
:: floating alone within the outer realms of space, the idea ::
:: of falling into deep unconsciousness and the human desire ::
:: to learn as much as one man's frail mind can take. ::
:: Conceptually speaking, Delusions of grandeur is based ::
:: solely around the life of a man who, day by day, becomes ::
:: more and more powerful until he is given the title of ::
:: "almighty ruler of the universe", eventually becoming so ::
:: self-confident that he "falls through space to his death". ::
:: As disconcerting as this sounds, the band have certainly ::
:: done their homework. They cite Stanley Kubrick's ::
:: masterpiece 2001: A space odyssey as a direct influence, ::
:: and it does seem to play a vital role in the album's ::
:: overall message. With Delusions of grandeur, Sahg have ::
:: managed to create a sound that could be mistaken for the ::
:: soundtrack to that film. That's NOT an exaggeration. ::
:: ::
:: However, where the music is concerned, some are bound to be ::
:: put off, whilst others may fall in love immediately. The ::
:: main problem (and let's face it, the only problem) here is ::
:: that a few of the songs constantly bring to mind Crack the ::
:: Skye-era Mastodon. And this is the album we're talking ::
:: about, not the song. As rich and vast in sound as songs ::
:: such as "Blizzardborne" or "Then wakens the beast" are, you ::
:: just can't shake off the leftover sounds still ringing in ::
:: your mind from Mastodon's past. It's so uncanny it almost ::
:: seems like Mastodon are taking over at times, but it isn't ::
:: too much of a bother, since Sahg have naturally crafted ::
:: their own unique style without any help. ::
:: ::
:: What really helps Delusions of grandeur is the way in which ::
:: each song changes its mood almost immediately, whilst still ::
:: keeping the wonderful musical flow. Take "Walls of ::
:: delusion" and "Ether" for example. Whereas the former owes ::
:: a lot to the heavier side of 70s metal with its massive ::
:: grooves and bluesy hooks, the latter revels in mesmerizing, ::
:: spacey sounds against endless waves of fuzzy guitars and ::
:: booming bass-lines, something which inevitably wouldn't ::
:: sound out of place on any of Hawkwind's first five albums. ::
:: There's also the last two songs, arguably the pinnacle of ::
:: Sahg's level of songwriting and talent. "Odium delerium", ::
:: the album's only instrumental jam, begins to sound as if ::
:: something's missing-and if you're thinking vocals, then ::
:: you're definitely right. Yet within a minute of ::
:: electrifying instrumentation which constantly thrills the ::
:: casual listener with its warm, upbeat vibes, everything ::
:: seems to fit together nicely, producing an energetic ::
:: performance which never actually ends until the opening ::
:: moments its successor. "Sleeper's gate to the galaxy" is ::
:: simply where every aspect of the band's talent fuses into ::
:: one in the form of an epic 11-minute opus, serving as the ::
:: centrepiece of Delusions of grandeur. Although it takes a ::
:: fair few minutes to truly get going, the song very rarely ::
:: lets up on musical quality. With his enchanting vocals, ::
:: Olav slowly but surely creates a multitude of feelings, ::
:: crafted within head-scratching albeit eventually ::
:: comprehensible lyrics, and together with the exquisite ::
:: technicality of the rhythm section it all seems as if it's ::
:: going to be a lengthy ballad, before the vocalist shows his ::
:: metallic edge and roars through a wall of loud, distorted ::
:: sound . It echoes everything that the band may or may not ::
:: have succeeded with in the past, and certainly resurrects ::
:: the mind-blowing intensity which is prominent on other ::
:: similarly enigmatic songs such as "Firechild" and "Ether". ::
:: ::
:: There's nothing more to say about Delusions of grandeur, ::
:: except that it is most definitely the career-defining album ::
:: Sahg wanted to create ever since their inception in 2004. ::
:: It has to be listened to carefully-in fact, reading along ::
:: to the lyrics will help you understand the band's sole ::
:: intention when creating Delusions of grandeur-but there is ::
:: certainly a special something here which may convert you to ::
:: music of a more forward-thinking style. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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