Never Ending Battles

Saxorior is one of those bands that have always been there. Since 1994, they've been plugging away at their special brand of epic, folk-infused black metal but have received little attention outside of their homeland, Germany. Their 5th studio album, "Never Ending Battles", is an accomplished, but flawed work, showing as much promise as error in its attempt at greater recognition

When you begin to play this CD, what are you greeted with but the chirping of (most surely adorable) birds. But Saxorior wastes little time before the sounds of galloping horses fade in, kicking off the instrumental intro that leads to the first real song of the album, "Never Ending War". This song actually typifies precisely what Saxorior does right and wrong. Saxorior clearly has a passion and a certain flair for melody that is beyond many of their peers. Not totally unlike Amon Amarth, their strength is the ability to drive a track up to an epic climax within a relatively short space of time. One can easily hear this in "Never Ending War", whose driving double bass and intertwining guitar/synth melodies could intoxicate any wanna-be Viking. But it doesn't take long to realize what Saxorior is missing: technicality. The lack of complex instrumentation often leads to an overly repetitive sound that is often the album's downfall. Songs such as "Expiation" or "Pain" start off strong but seem to fizzle out half way through due to a lack of variance in the songwriting.

However, when Saxorior is able to sufficiently differentiate their songs, they shine amazingly. For instance, observe the majestic 3-song link of "Reasons Of War", "The Old Spruce In The Wolfsschlucht" and "Blade Of Revenge". The second of that series is a beautiful acoustic guitar and what sounds like a pan flute present the perfect reprieve between two of the heaviest tracks on the album. Also of definite note is "Dem Meister", where Saxorior transcend their formula to deliver a brilliant, textured track that goes through a number of movements, each with their own emotional peaks and valleys. And of course, no one will be able to ignore the cover of AC/DC's classic "For Those About To Rock", which is almost able to rival the original in carefully designed intensity.

Overall, "Never Ending Battles" is a good, but not great, release. Saxorior needs to strive further with the hints of multifaceted composition we see in the albums center and end. But if they can do that, they might be able to break out of their national scene and achieve some of the recognition they deserve.

(Originally written for www.vampire-magazine.com)