Review by Sonny for Saturnus - Paradise Belongs to You (1997)

Paradise Belongs to You was the debut album from Copenhagen's death doomers Saturnus, released a full six years after their formation in 1991 they had had plenty of time to work up the material for their introduction to the metallic masses. It shows too, because the band presented a set of well-developed tracks here that it is very obvious they felt exceedingly comfortable with. Production-wise (courtesy of Flemming Rasmussen) they have hit a nice spot between clarity and a sheen of just enough muddiness to render the material suitably doomy and gloomy sounding. They have, however, taken the rather puzzling decision to include a plethora of birdsong samples into the album, which can be a bit distracting, although they are brief enough not to provide any lasting irritation.

Saturnus' whole vibe is very much derived from The Peaceville Three, particularly My Dying Bride's gothic death doom leanings and that sound is exceedingly well reproduced here. Slow, towering chords and distant and ephemeral layers of keyboards combine to produce a mournful and introspective atmosphere while Thomas Jensen's understated vocals, both death growls and cleans, effectively convey a deep and abiding melancholy. The songs are well-written and develop nicely during their respective run times with some particularly melodic and memorable riffs, such as the instantly recognisable one unveiled during Christ Goodbye or the opening riff to Astral Dawn. Their song development ensures that none of them drag on just for the sake of filling runtime, but seem to actually be going somewhere and provide a certain satisfaction at track's end that the listener has completed a journey with the band through a particularly mournful episode in their life. There are also a couple of folky interludes, in The Fall of Nakkiel (Nakkiel Has Fallen) and the short instrumental As We Dance the Paths of Fire and Solace, which break up the doomier material and provide a nice contrast in  atmosphere. The album also closes with a gentle, medieval-sounding piece that leads into a final chorus of birdsong.

Instrumentally, the Saturnus guys seem very proficient and everything seems to be very professionally realised but that means naught if you don't have the songs and these Danes certainly do. Sure, it probably sits at the lighter end of the death doom scale, but I actually think Saturnus' songs are better than the comparable material from My Dying Bride, mainly because they don't lean as heavily on the whole gothic schtick. I'm sure that will surprise many readers of this, but hey, what can I say?!