Album Review: Skuggor – Where Sun Resigns
Band: Skuggor
Title: Where Sun Resigns
Label: Naturmacht Productions
Release date: May 16th, 2025
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High-quality digital recording
Album Review: Skuggor – Where Sun Resigns via Naturmacht Productions by Michelle
Ever since I discovered an atmospheric black metal act which made its way onto my battle vest, I’ve been quite interested in finding out more bands like so, even though lately I’ve been fixated on listening to different subgenres. Well, I stumbled across Skuggor while looking for a new album to review, and I must admit that this was quite the experience.
The ambient intro of ‘Writhe’ sends the listener into a peaceful state, though this calming silence is interrupted by a powerful instrumental, the combination of these two aspects being perfectly balanced. The use of the synthesizer is what makes the album whole, because this is an important characteristic of atmospheric black metal. The vocals are quite distorted, which in my opinion are pretty enjoyable to listen to.
A thing I noticed in ‘Meditations Upon the Roots of Infinity’ is the rythmic and bouncy facet of the drums upon the start of the song, though the tempo changes as moments pass. The sound effects combined with the gloomy guitar disseminate quite the sorrowful feeling with their music, showing just how much effort there is put into this album.
Just after the slight calmness of the previous song, there is ‘From Crescent to Oblivion’, which again, features some pretty rythmic aspects, but it also includes the rawness of the distorted vocals, making everything more energetic but still keeping a downcast atmosphere. The tremolo picking of the guitar fused with the synthesizer creates an absolutely amazing sound, which would perfectly describe Skuggor’s menacing and gloomy outfit.
At around 1 and a half minute of ‘For Every Wound a Hymm of Growth’, there is an ambient pause, the main aspect being the distortion of the guitar and the synth, which is equal to the perfect shadowy and desolate attitude Skuggor is aiming for.
This one’s a personal favorite, and that is ‘Coma Abyss, Devour Me’, because from the very start of it I found the rawness of the guitar riffs really catchy, the synthesizer and raw vocals combined only making me like this song more and more. I think that out of all songs, this one is the most mysanthropic, downhearted, and shadowy despite the sound effects sounding a bit bouncy and opposite of the instrumental.
‘Time Folds Spirals’ feels slower, worn out, as if it was perfectly composed for the album’s ending. This is what I thought before getting to the half of it, which takes a sudden, energetic turn that I didn’t really expect. Either way, this album is something I totally enjoyed, with both its raw ambience and sorrowful melancholy. The album cover is perfectly matched with the sound, a feature I think is what makes an album respectable, considering how some artists feel the need to ‘clickbait’ listeners. 10/10!
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10/10 Immortal Classic
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