REVIEW: SACRATUS – The Doomed to Loneliness

 

SACRATUS – The Doomed to Loneliness

Endless Desperation/ Darknagar Records

When I first delved into Sacratus's 2009 debut, «The Doomed to Loneliness», released through Darknagar Records, the title immediately struck me as a perfect encapsulation of their sound. This Russian outfit clearly wears its influences on its sleeve, drawing heavily from the giants of atmospheric doom/death metal like My Dying Bride, early Anathema, and Paradise Lost.

My personal experience with this album has been a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, I genuinely appreciate the band's initial foray into the genre. They certainly nail the melancholic atmosphere, which is absolutely crucial for any doom metal act. Tracks like “Interlace” and the uniquely “oriental tuned” “Surb Hokhi” really resonated with me, proving that Sacratus has some solid compositional ideas. The growl vocals, I must say, are pretty spot on and perfectly suited for the style. And there are moments, especially in a track like "Madness," where the keyboards really gel with the guitar riffs in a fantastic way.

However, I found myself wrestling with a few significant points of contention. The length of many of these songs, often stretching to ten minutes or more, felt a bit gratuitous. While doom is known for its extended pieces, I just didn't feel the material consistently justified such epic durations. The riffing, for me, often came across as somewhat generic. There wasn't much in the way of distinct hooks or memorable twists, and at times, it felt like the guitars and bass were merely there to lay a foundation for the more prominent keyboard and vocal elements. Speaking of vocals, the clean singing was a definite low point for me; it just didn't land well. And honestly, the pronunciation issues in some of the English lyrics occasionally pulled me out of the immersive experience the band was trying to create.

Ultimately, while I can certainly commend Sacratus for their evident passion and dedication on «The Doomed to Loneliness», I found myself wishing for more. It's an album that leans heavily into melody, sometimes to its detriment, and it didn't quite possess the powerful conviction or truly original ideas that would allow it to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the genre's titans. My mind, regrettably, sometimes wandered rather than being fully captivated by the music.

Nick Parastatidis