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Saor – “Amidst the Ruins” Review

Five tracks. That is all you need to fall in love with the beauty of Saor. The Scottish project’s sixth album, Amidst the Ruins, will have you hooked from the very first melody and will take you through an entire spiritual journey in a little less than an hour, and it will be worth every second. The wonderful music of Saor is deeply intertwined with the roots of the land, singing praises to the beauty and magic of nature and times past, and it’s impossible not to feel the longing it evokes.

The album starts off very strong with “Amidst the Ruins,” with a melody that is immediately memorable and full of emotion. The impassioned harsh vocals are accompanied by flute melodies, and the song as a whole has an intensely beautiful feel to it. There are some bagpipes added in, which give the song a more epic feel. At almost 13 minutes long, this track is a journey in itself and continually evolves, with more flute at the end as well as some beautiful strings and female vocals. The next track, “Echoes of the Ancient Land,” begins with a bit more harshness but soon eases into a gentle flute and violin section that will soothe and stir your soul. The song continues to build, with the guitars playing an addictive melody and the clean vocals reminiscing on the significance of a land that feels alive with its earth and history. Before bringing back the heaviness, “Glen of Sorrow” has a slow and somber start, but eventually picks up the tempo for a more black metal-heavy track. The bagpipes and clean female vocals in this one really add something special in between the harsh vocals, a heartfelt dedication to warriors felled in battle, urging their spirits to arise and reclaim their honor.

The shortest track of the album, “The Sylvan Embrace,” is deeply spiritual and inspiring, with an ethereal acoustic guitar intro with some cello that continues to build up and is soon joined by some whispered vocals. These grow into clean male and female vocals singing together in veneration of the land and its enduring beauty and sanctity. This track gets better on every listen, and you will find the lyrics floating in your head in the middle of the day. Absolutely beautiful. Finally, “Rebirth” brings back the heavier guitars and harsh vocals but is just as beautiful as the previous tracks, ending with some female vocalizations that surpass the need for language to convey a deep and upmost respect and love for nature and the land inhabited. The strings in this sound heroic, and the bagpipes at the end truly are the perfect finale to a wonderfully dreamy and yearning record.

Wistful yet invigorating, each track is beautifully arranged and has a perfect mix of harsh vocals and heavy guitars alongside gentle clean female vocals and traditional instruments including flutes, bagpipes, and strings. Not only is the music absolutely stunning, but so are the lyrics, an ode to nature and stories of old. Every track is full of life and emotion and is endlessly listenable, teeming with longing and passionate melody. An enduring and timeless musical achievement worthy of every praise, Amidst the Ruins will leave its imprint in your heart and will continue to have a life of its own beyond all of us.

Amidst the Ruins releases on February 7th, 2025. Preorder the vinyl here: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/band/saor or here: https://saor.bandcamp.com/album/amidst-the-ruins-2

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