Saor – Amidst the Ruins (Review)

This is the sixth album from UK one-man black metal band Saor.

After my 2022 introduction to Saor via the enjoyable Origins, I’ve since explored their back catalogue some more, and also seen them live and bought the t-shirt. This means I’ve been looking forward to Amidst the Ruins a great deal.

Whereas Origins was somewhat of an anomaly in Saor’s discography – with shorter songs and a shorter album overall – Amidst the Ruins continues the previous albums’ trend of longer, epic songs; there are five tracks on this new record, and it has a total duration of 59 minutes.

The artist behind Saor specialises in atmospheric black metal, and uses folk influences to enrich the material’s musical tapestry. However, this simple description doesn’t really do Saor justice, especially on Amidst the Ruins. This new album is extremely accomplished. Saor’s style sounds bigger and better than ever, and the songwriting matches the sonic quality levels.

Amidst the Ruins is an album that’s epic in scope and ambition, one that is realised wonderfully by the people involved in its creation. The songs are layered and expressive, with a range of different instruments and guests enhancing the music’s absorbing delivery. This includes additional vocals, whistles, pipes, drums, cello, violin, and viola. At lot of work has gone into Amidst the Ruins, and it shows.

Each song is an experience in itself, while also fitting naturally in the album’s landscape. Potent melodies hook you in deep, pulling you ever further into Saor’s well-realised world. Although the melodies – no matter what instrument they come from – are the most striking and memorable aspect of the music, at least on first listen, the rhythm guitars, drums, and vocals should not be discounted either. Everything here contributes to the whole so completely that to remove any single part would cause noticeable issues.

The songs are extremely evocative. The black metal core is perfectly aligned with the outside coating of folk instruments and melodies. This synergy is very capably steered by the artist behind Saor, showcasing songwriting that makes the most of the album’s approach to atmospheric black metal.

Captivating, beautiful, and powerful, Saor’s latest is a stunningly good record. Amidst the Ruins is the sort of album that really gets a band noticed. Of course, plenty of people already know about Saor, but this must surely be something that takes them up another level of popularity. Time will tell, of course. For now, revel in the wonders that Amidst the Ruins has for you.

Essential listening for fans of bands such as Agalloch, Atra Vetosus, Cistvaen, Falls of Rauros, Fen, Panopticon, Winterfylleth, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc.