Review by Saxy S for Sojourner - Premonitions (2020)

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.