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Saturnus > For the Loveless Lonely Nights > Reviews
Saturnus - For the Loveless Lonely Nights

Play it at my funeral - 97%

Absinthe1979, May 2nd, 2020
Written based on this version: 1998, CD, Euphonious Records

Back in the 90s it was common to make blind purchases – something that is almost impossible to do these days where band information is so ubiquitous. I remember seeing an advertisement in a copy of Terrorizer magazine in 1998 for a band called Saturnus and the suggestion that they played gothic doom that put other bands of the genre to shame.

The title of their latest release, ‘For the Loveless Lonely Nights’ immediately captured my teenage imagination, as it was precisely the syrupy romantic sentiment that obsessed me at the time (and probably still does, if I’m honest). I'd never heard of the band before, but was intrigued, especially as they came from exotic and mysterious Denmark.

I went to the local music store and ordered ‘For the Loveless Lonely Nights’. About 4 weeks later it finally arrived from some far off location and I picked it up at huge cost. I took it home, where my friend and I put the disc in the CD player, pressed play and waited to see what would happen. Within seconds of the opening melody of ‘Starres’ booming through the speakers, we just looked at each other, mouths agape. We had hit on a winner.

‘For the Loveless Lonely Nights’ is a 36 minute EP containing three new tracks, two live tracks and a closing instrumental. It all sounds surprisingly cohesive due to the ordering of the songs and the consistency of the production, even in regards to the live tracks which fit hand in glove with the other songs. As promised by the advertisement, the general sound is of slow, epic and melodic doom metal in the tradition of the mid 90s output by the Peaceville 3, with a European atmospheric sensibility running through the whole thing.

The songs are simply glorious. Opening track ‘Starres’ features an emotional initial melody played on a guitar which drops away, only for the melody to be carried on by haunting piano notes. Vocalist Thomas AG Jensen speaks the verses in a beautiful and subdued narrator's voice, while unleashing a huge growl during the immense chorus, proclaiming “For me, forever, for us”. It’s mesmerising. The bridge contains an enchanting female voice speaking French, before the roaring chorus comes in once more. The song ends with an epic ‘Draconian Times’ style movement that sees guitar melodies carry the track to its breathtaking conclusion. It’s one of the all-time great gothic doom songs. Play it at my funeral.

‘For Your Demons’ is a haunting acoustic guitar and violin piece that sounds darkly folkish. Jensen speaks across this song too, and it’s hugely effective; his voice is perfect for this style of vocal delivery. The chorus, which begins with ‘This song is for the demons that haunted you in those loveless lonely nights…” is achingly impactful. The clever shift in lyrics for the chorus’s second coming, “that haunted me in those loveless lonely nights” is a clever twist. ‘Thou Art Free’, which is later reimagined in an acoustic version on the next album 'Martyre', maintains the subdued atmosphere, before the two epic live tracks launch.

Recorded at the 1997 Roskilde festival, ‘Christ Goodbye’, the best song from ‘Paradise Belongs to You’ is immense and august in its scope, while ‘Rise of Nakkiel’, which closes the setlist, is the perfect follow-up. Both tracks feature the inclusion of a choir for the festival versions, and this comes across just beautifully on the EP and makes for an intriguing point of difference between their previously released studio versions. Needless to say, the choirs just compound the epic quality of these gothic anthems, and the recording is so warm and analogue sounding - it's amazing to listen to. The final catharsis, ‘Consecration’, is an ambient track of gongs and strange noises, and while it is certainly mysterious and even religious, doesn’t particularly move the listener like the other tracks do - yet its function is to provide spiritual closure, and this it does admirably.

The cover art is close to perfect, with the grey stone tomb in the foreground complementing the foundations of an ancient temple in the background – the whole thing swathed in ghostly grey tones. Talk about nostalgia for the glorious 90s scene….

While all of the Kim Larsen releases (‘Paradise Belongs to You’, ‘For the Loveless Lonely Nights' and ‘Martyre’) are world class gothic doom monuments and the peak of Saturnus’s output, for me this release is their greatest accomplishment. It’s romantic, it’s heartfelt and it’s powerful – both sonically and emotionally. My loveless lonely nights would never be as cold again.

Loveless lonely nights not so lonely after all - 84%

Nightshade, June 6th, 2004

Wow! Where do i start with this EP...how about the first track Starres. Starres starts off with a nice count in and harmonious guitar and paino which is excellent then it mellows down but before long but we're met again with the heavy guitars and the doomish growls. Starres has a nice mellow/doom sound to it which i love. Track 2 For Your Demons starts off quiet mellow indeed with the acoustic guitars and classical insturments (violin or something similar) and continues all the way through with spoken with a deep mellow voice more then sang. Track 3 is a similar track to track 2, but met with heavy guitars towards the end. The live tracks Chist Goodbye and Rise Of Nakkiel are incredible they play them superbly and they seem to have a great appreciating audience aswell. Finally Consecration the last track which i dont really find anything special just a dragging out 7 min long slow keyboard track this track usually is avoided when the EP is being played.

EP is great suggest you check it out if you like music with a bit of feeling in it, the whole EP manages to attract the doom genre even in the mellow tracks. Stand-out tracks; the whole EP bar Consecration