Solitude Aeturnus......

[Jasonic]

Alright, so I am finally spinning a full-length from SA for the first time (Their most recent, ALONE) (Import digipack with bonus tracks, for collector geeks like me who need to know this sort of thing).

So far I am VERY impressed with this release.
Straight up traditional doom, with not so typical doom vocals.
Robert Lowe seems to vary his vocal style which is nice

(as opposed to Wino, for example, who basically always sings in the SAME key every song, which works, but makes listening to Vitus/Obsessed/etc a bit redundant after a while).

So for those more familiar with SA, which full length would you recommend next?

 

[The Invisible Guest]

I only knew them by name when I heard their announcement, but I since have checked them out, and I enjoy them.

Alone is the disc I spent the most time with .. it's very good. Robert Lowe is an excellent singer ... I'm very impressed with him.

I've heard it said that Beyond The Crimson Horizon is a classic, but I have not had a chance to really delve into it yet.

Britt

 

[booB]

My favorites are Adagio and Through the Darkest Hour... but really, everything by them is excellent. Downfall is probably the least varied and most straightforward disc they did.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Crimson Horizon and Into the Depths of Sorrow are their "classics" I guess, and also their earliest material.

 

[Walter_Langkowski]

Alright, so I am finally spinning a full-length from SA for the first time (Their most recent, ALONE) (Import digipack with bonus tracks, for collector geeks like me who need to know this sort of thing).

So far I am VERY impressed with this release.
Straight up traditional doom, with not so typical doom vocals.
Robert Lowe seems to vary his vocal style which is nice

(as opposed to Wino, for example, who basically always sings in the SAME key every song, which works, but makes listening to Vitus/Obsessed/etc a bit redundant after a while).

So for those more familiar with SA, which full length would you recommend next?

Jasonic,

I am glad that you are getting into these guys. They have been one of my faves since I saw them open up for Mercyful Fate in Jan. 1995 at the Vic Theater . They blew my mind that night, and they King slaying as usual definitely put that show up in one of my top ten concerts of all time.

I'm also glad that you are digging "Alone", although to be honest I am a little dissapointed by it. Don't get me wrong, it is far from bad, but pretty much I'd have to say that they have one of the most classic catalogs of any band that I have in my collection (in other words, they've fucking ruled!) But I think that the time off between albums, plus with 3 new guys out of 5, they've lost a little bit of songwriting chemistry.
With that said, "Alone" is solid, but not spectactular. I'd give it somewhere around a 6.75 or 7 rating out of ten, which isn't bad at all.

And as far as the rest of their catalog, here's how I'd personally rate it:


Into The Depths Of Sorrow: 7.75
Beyond The Crimson Horizon: 9
Through The Darkest Hour: 10 (+)!!
Downfall: 7.5
Adagio: 9.25


"Downfall" would probably get another 0.5 point up had it not had one of THE worst production jobs I have ever heard on ANY CD I own. Still, it has the closing track "Concern", which has some of Robert Lowe's best singing on it.
And "Through The Darkest Hour" is probably in my top five albums of all time, just perfection.


I hope this helps!