Review by Ben for Sacramentum - Far Away From the Sun (1996)
Fills the gap left by Dissection's absence but doesn't match the quality or consistency of the Swedish legends.
It’s almost impossible not to make comparisons to Dissection when discussing Sacramentum. The way the band mix melodic yet frosty tremolo riffs, raspy black metal vocals and death metal drumming is straight out of the book that Jon Nödtveidt and co. wrote some three years earlier. The only thing missing from Sacramentum’s sound that would complete the replication is the acoustic interludes that were found throughout The Somberlain and as bookends to the classic Storm of the Light’s Bane. The suggestion that the band merely copied an already successful template is not helped by the fact that vocalist Nisse Karlén sounds almost the same as Mr Nödtveidt. All this being said, I’m a firm believer that you can’t get too much of a good thing, and with Dissection not able to produce anything of note after those first two albums (due to incarceration, then commercialisation and then suicide), Sacramentum taking over the reins seems if anything to be extraordinarily good timing. The question that remains of course is whether Far Away from the Sun can match the heights of its obvious influence.
Many fans out there are adamant that the answer to the question above is yes, with many suggesting that it in fact surpasses it. I don’t agree, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t have a lot to offer to fans of melodic black metal. There’s no doubt that this album has some seriously great music and the spirit is where it needs to be from start to finish, but there are a few areas where it doesn’t quite keep up the high standard, making Far Away From the Sun just as far away from Storm of the Light’s Bane. On the positive side, the riffs are absolutely gold throughout the album. It takes a little while for them to sink in (my first couple of listens where a bit underwhelming) but Karlén is a master craftsman of dark, atmospheric melodies and once they get under your skin they refuse to let go. The album doesn’t mess around at all, being a purely metal affair that’s gloriously malevolent and brutal. It undoubtedly succeeds in creating the majestic atmosphere that black metal bands of this style are aiming for.
On the negative side, the drumming is noticeably average at times. When Nicklas Rudolfsson blasts away it’s all perfectly adequate, but whenever he drops the speed his style is distractingly mediocre. It reminds me of Vinterland’s Welcome My Last Chapter for this reason more than any other, as that melodic black metal album also has great death metal style blast beats that are let down by strangely off beats at regular intervals. I also feel that the album doesn’t really take off until the cracking fifth track Cries from a Restless Soul. The first few tracks are decent enough, but the middle section onwards has a consistently excellent quality leaving the album somewhat bottom heavy. Yet while Far from the Sun can’t quite match the polish and consistency of the already-mentioned-too-many-times album above, it’s one that admirably fills the gap left by Dissection’s absence, and I’ll give it a spin every now and then for sure. Highlight tracks are Cries from a Restless Soul, Obsolete Tears and Beyond All Horizons.