SAILLE — Irreversible Decay (review)

SAILLE — Irreversible Decay album cover Album · 2011 · Melodic Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
adg211288
Irreversible Decay is the debut album by black metal band Saille, released in 2011. The music of Saille is best described as Symphonic Black metal, however there are times within their music that where Classical Black Metal would perhaps be the more accurate description to give them.

The album begins with an instrumental piece that really plays on the classical/symphonic influences in the band’s sound. This is a nice lead in to the first actual song, Passages Of The Nemesis. Initial impression of the album at this stage are that the band are competent at their instruments and that they have not gone that the under-produced route that some black metal bands do, resulting in a good clear sound topped off by some pretty decent vocals which at times remind me of Mayhem’s Attila Csihar. Normally coming from me that wouldn’t be a complement because I can’t say I go much on Csihar’s vocals, but Saille vocalist Jonathan Vanderwal manages to pull off the style in a way that that complements the music well. Instrumentation from the other members of the top is top notch for the style they play, and I find it nice to hear a bit of lead guitar in the music as well. But it’s the classical/symphonic element in the music that really makes Irreversible Decay an interesting album, as it is this that really makes the sound atmospheric.

There is plenty on offer here for the black metal fan, and even to people who don’t enjoy the genre so much. This is a more accessible album than some black metal releases I’ve come across, but it sounds all the better for it. This is symphonic black metal at its finest and to top it all the album proves itself to be no one trick pony as well, with fourth track Plaigh Allais being very progressively inclined with several random changes in the track’s delivery, and it instantly became one of the album’s highlights for me. Another highly is Maere, which is the first song the band released to promote the album. The intro of this one really showcases that classical feel again, to excellent results. It is an album where every song provides some fresh ideas and there isn’t a single track that can be considered the album’s weak link.

All in all Irreversible Decay is without a doubt one of the first truly exciting albums from 2011 and is also one of the best debut’s I’ve heard for some time. The band can safely be proud of this gem. Consider this reviewer highly impressed.

(Review originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)
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Vehemency wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Now I'm exited to hear this! Soon that will happen...

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