This is the fifth album from Canadian black metal band SIG:AR:TYR.
The promo blurb tells us that Citadel of Stars is for fans of Bathory, Primordial, Falkenbach, Emperor, and Agalloch. This sets the scene nicely for what SIG:AR:TYR have to offer, and should also hopefully speak to how accomplished this album is too.
Containing 60 minutes of music, Citadel of Stars is an experience to be savoured as an absorbing whole. Even if running times are equal, some albums just sound bigger than others, and Citadel of stars is one such release. Vast, expansive, and immersive, it’s a record that draws you in and creates such immense blackened soundscapes that you just won’t want to leave SIG:AR:TYR’s evocative world until you absolutely have to.
Stylistically you can identify a number of subgenres on Citadel of Stars – atmospheric black metal, folk black metal, epic pagan metal, blackened heavy metal, etc. The key thing, whatever you term it as, is that Citadel of Stars is quality through and through.
Citadel of Stars is an album of atmosphere, first and foremost. It’s a collection of songs to become lost in, to immerse yourself in the hypnotic blackened ethereal waves that carry you through the cosmos, visiting the sort of dark sights you rarely get to see. This is not an album of instant gratification, but one that you have to fell deeply into over time. Once you give yourself over to its captivating charms it’s hard to pull away.
As well as the bands mentioned at the start of this review, I have to say that if you like acts such as Summoning, Midnight Odyssey, Moonsorrow, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Winterfylleth, I imagine you’ll find much to enjoy here too.
This is a record to spend some quality time with, so make sure that you do.
Wonderbox Metal 