By: Ernesto
Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date
Released:
01/09/2017
Label: Argonauta
Records
Sator keeps you
listening with its true-school doom vibe -- not sludge, not stoner, not
psychedelic... straight-ahead doom that you've just got to admire. "Ordeal" is an exemplary entry into
the genre, and one that its fans may undoubtedly value.
"Ordeal"
CD//DD track listing:
1.
Heartache
2.
Ordeal
3.
Soulride
4.
Sky Burial
5.
Funeral Pyres
The Review:
Sator is, at first
listen, one of those bands you have to step back from to appreciate. Many
performers particularly in metal and genres with a devoted fan base face a
similar issue. It is incredibly hard to make something that stands out. The
conventions of the music are such that true distinctiveness is rare.
The
Genoa, Italy trio debuted in 2015 with a
self-titled release, drawing a myriad of comparisons including to Neurosis and early Eyehategod. Those are
lofty comparisons, perhaps. However, on "Ordeal," Sator manages to
buck expectations with an impressive array of guitar attacks that make the
material feel energetic. Sator keeps you
listening with its true-school doom vibe -- not sludge, not stoner, not
psychedelic... straight-ahead doom that you've just got to admire.
"Heartache" opens the release and
it is, unsurprisingly, one of the strongest tracks. With a deep bass and drum
steering the cut and a titanic guitar riff in the mix, Sator make a good first
impression. The vocals are rattling with distortion, which only rachets up the
fearful aesthetic. This segues into the title track. The band wrings out of
these low notes and turgid bass fixtures a song that, like many songs on the
album, offers a story you have to listen for a second time. Part of that is
just its atypical vision for arrangement. "Soulride" continues the listening journey and proves a worthy
successor. Its start is positively massive in terms of chords, and Sator doesn't let up.
The
vocal effects detract at times from the overall arrangement. On lessser
recordings, such effects are done to mask deficiencies in range and tonality.
You don't walk away with that impression here. Instead the production seems
carefully chosen to mesh with the mood of "Ordeal." And what a dense and down mood it is. Every song's
tempo gets slower, muddier and more despairing as the record continues. How
songs are organized and the progression of feeling that comes with it is one of
Sator's strongest
points on the album. Tracks get more and more crushing as time moves on, and
the result is so very satisfying.
The
album closes with "Funeral Pyres,"
a 15-minute journey that is a smashing closer. While perhaps overlong -- the
song would be equally good with 2-4 minutes trimmed away -- the group's
willingness to see its concepts through, even when it might be easier to slice
up something more accessible, is demonstrative of its commitment to a sincerely
doom album. Throughout its peaks and valleys, the final song proves to be a
showcase of Sator's best qualities
and maybe areas of improvement. Nevertheless "Ordeal" is an exemplary entry into the genre, and one that its
fans may undoubtedly value.
"Ordeal" is available here
