Sacramentum
Far Away From the Sun

In the faint horizon
A castle began to take form
Surrounded by icemountains.
The castle of myself.
As I drifted closer I knew I was there,
In my divine dimension
That my visions had shown me for years.

This time my journey was forever,
I knew there was no turning back.
I had found the castle of myself
And I fell asleep far away from the sun.

The debut album by Sacramentum, a Swedish band whose origins trace back to Falköping, "Far Away from the Sun," falls within the orbit of "Melodic Black Metal," a genre that, while having much in common with black metal (such as fast rhythms, the use of blast beats, aggressive riffs), differs for other aspects, such as the absence of dark and sinister atmospheres typical of black, or riffs played in a very "clear" manner, without distortion.

Initially named "Tumulus" by founder Nisse Karlén (vocals-guitar) in 1990, the band soon after welcomed Anders Brolyke as a second guitarist, and before their first release, the demo "Sedes Impiorum" in 1992, the name was changed to Sacramentum. A notable name, very particular (not that peculiarity in metal band names is anything new...).

The album immediately starts without any frills, with the first track "Fog's Kiss", which manifests as a strong storm, composed of fast rhythms, blast beats (the excellent Nicklas Rudolfsson), and Nisse's voice that seems to come from the deepest levels of the castle depicted in the graphic designer Kristian Wåhlin's cover. The title track is a mix of slow and fast rhythms, accompanied by atmospheres that seem to want to lead us to discover our "castle" (as mentioned in the track), a metaphorical place, understood as a point of divine arrival, where we can rest our tired limbs, far from the same Sun, a source of light and symbol of salvation and hope for our soul. Because here, we are talking about black metal, and no, we are not referring to a sunny castle with heraldic emblems hanging on the walls, perhaps situated in a landscape typical of Tolkien-like fantasy settings. What we are talking about is situated in the underground of darkness, the only bulwark we have left to take refuge and await our destiny.

But if you thought everything was already over, here comes "Blood Shall Be Spilled", where the rhythms, more or less, are those we find throughout the entire listening span of the album, excellently followed by "When Night Surrounds Me", where the variety of melodies is truly remarkable. However, it is perhaps "Cries from a Restless Soul", which best represents the genre of the album itself, characterized by a very evocative text and atmospheres that accompany us on a journey through a dark forest, in total solitude, in a fate that seems never to end, except at the end of our days.

The subsequent "Obsolete Tears", "Beyond all Horizons", and "The Vision and the Voice", are an excellent appetizer for the imminent outro "Darkness Falls for Me", where by now the darkness has fallen behind our journey, and in accepting (or maybe not) all of this, we have no choice but to perform the most natural action of our lives: sleep and abandon ourselves to the embrace of darkness.

Although it's a well-known band (considered among the pioneers of this genre), as I later found out, I only got to know and listen to this album in recent times, during one of my phases "let's listen to some albums I don't know and expand my listening repertoire." The quality of the album, in terms of technique, quality of the lyrics, and melodies themselves present in the various songs (as it's Melodic, it's important to underscore this), I think is undeniable. However, considering it is a very particular subgenre, it is certainly not an album that, in some cases, could be digested with just one listen (I personally listened to it three/four times, also considering the last listening necessary for this review). If we then add the fact that, when talking about Sweden/Norway, metal bands are certainly not lacking, then it may seem obvious that these Sacramentum are complete strangers.

But they are not, so dedicate forty-six minutes of your life, before the darkness falls, and "dedicate" this fantastic album to yourself.