Sojourner - Premonitions (2020)^{Release ID: 20143}

Monumentally Monotonous

Sojourner have carved out their own special place in my Atmospheric Black Metal catalog thanks to their undeniably smooth and beautiful style that layers waves of folk influences over dark but supple Black Metal riffing. While this formula has been used time and time again by Black Metal influenced Folk Metal bands, Sojourner have had a knack of creating something especially beautiful and especially atmospheric in their previous two albums The Shadowed Road and Empires of Ash. They also distinguish themselves by having two vocalists, one male harsh and one female clean that soars gracefully above the layered instrumentation. Premonitions is a Sojourner fan's dream, giving the listener even more of their signature style, but it comes with the drawback of stagnation as well. 

While keeping to their polished and sightly grim style, Premonitions really left me wanting more from Sojourner, even though I loved what I heard. Everything that makes the band great is here, from the aggressive but magnificent tremolo chord progressions, to the soft flute melodies echoing out past the metal section, to the interplay between the male and female vocalist, but none of it is particularly exciting. This is easily their safest album out of the three, with all of the elements feeling a bit derivative and even devolved in certain aspects. The absence of vocal duets between the clean and harsh vocals is very apparent since it was such a huge feature in their first two albums. "The Monolith" and "The Apocalyptic Theater" use it to some success during their respective climaxes and "Talas" is just beautiful in general, but this huge feature is generally missing from the rest of the album, replaced instead by them slowly taking turns in a fairly predictable way. It also showcases how weak the harsh vocals by themselves can be, with the raspy quality of the singer's voice not fitting into the mix too well without assistance from the female vocalist. 

Premonitions is predictable in general, which is where it really starts to fall flat, even for a Sojourner fan. Instead of this gorgeous woven landscape of flutes, pianos, and strings dancing around a dark but pleasing Black Metal background, it feels like each section is just taking turns in very planned out 8 to 16 bar structures. I completely understand that's how music is written, but great atmospheric Metal music creates the illusion that the sheet music and theory just isn't there as it takes the listener on whatever journey it has planned. Premonitions feels scripted in a way that is just meant to highlight Sojourner's unique traits and while that's all well and good, it comes off as fabricated instead of organic. There are some surprises here or there like the heaviness of the closer "The Event Horizon" or the masterful ballad "Talas", but in general this album definitely shows some stagnation that I'm not thrilled about. 

Don't get me wrong, this is a gorgeous album that I still love listening to just because I enjoy Sojourner's base style and sound, but the flaw of monotony is becoming extremely apparent as they continue to produce material. Even though each of these 7 songs sounds shadowy and elegant I do wish that there was more to it. I hope the band can regain some forward momentum in the coming years as I love hearing Folk elements used for a smoother and prettier approach to Atmospheric Black Metal, since most bands always seem to choose to go the more aggressive route. Even though there's nothing that quite sounds like Sojourner's soaring flutes and vocals atop glossy Black Metal riffs, I think I'm ready to hear something a little different from them. 

So far in the year 2020, I’ve learned that there are a lot of folk/atmospheric black metal bands that I’ve needed to discover. It started with Dzö-nga and their stellar record, Thunder in the Mountains, a sureshot contender for a very high spot on my year end list. Bands such as Skyforrest and Olhava also released new albums this year and sooner or later I’m going to have to check out the new Winterfylleth album. But as it stands, here is the newest album from New Zealand rockers Sojourner.

And this is a tough album to discuss because while I think it is a solid record, it does have some very obvious faults that need to be addressed. For starters, this is the third atmospheric black metal album I’ve heard this year with alternating male and female voices. This time around, the male vocals are given exclusive access to the screams and growls, while the female vocals are always clean. And yet for some reason, the vocals are pushed further into the back of the mix in favor of the instrumentals.

And while the music is good, it does suffer from many of the issues that plagued Skyforrest’s A New Dawn earlier this year; specifically in the guitars. The dynamic of the guitars is practically non-existent. When you have tunes like “Talas”, which show restraint through calm pianos, symphonic elements and percussion and Chloe Bay’s sweet vocal timbre, the drastic alteration to bombastic, open chords in the guitar is jarring.

But the album is very good if you can put aside the recurring issues. The implementation of flutes, synths and strings throughout this record are incorporated very well, in both the soft and louder portions. “The Monolith” has some great male and female vocal counterpoint, “The Deluge” uses a great guitar line as a musical motif and builds upon it throughout the song’s runtime, and “Fatal Frame” has some pummeling riffage to break up an album that is quite relaxed for a black metal record. Once again, I’m getting more Skyforest vibes and less Dzö-nga here.

What it all boils down to is an album that I really like, but don’t love. The production issues that are right there at the front are too obvious to omit, and great songwriting can only prop an album up so much.

I've really enjoyed Sojourner's output to date. There is something that speaks to me in their sweeping, expansive atmo-black compositions that conjure gorgeous mental pictures of the landscape of the band's home country of New Zealand. They inspire the same feelings inside me as the best of the UK's black metal acts, Saor and Winterfylleth, which is not really surprising as all three are heavily influenced by their respective country's natural surroundings and New Zealand strikes me as very similar to the more remote and unspoiled regions of Britain.

The eight tracks here are long enough to allow the music to breathe and impart their vision of the natural world. The vocals are of the harsh male / ethereal female dichotomy and there is liberal use of keyboards throughout to add layers to the lush atmosphere.

I've marked this down compared to the previous two albums because it feels a little too aggressive this time around and I feel this increased aggression is less effective in it's portrayal of the band's aesthetic. Still a good slab of atmospheric black metal though for those who enjoy the more folksy side of the genre.