Album Review: Sad Whisperings – The Hermit for #MetalChronicles

Band: Sad Whisperings
Title: The Hermit
Label: Vidar Records
Release date: January 19th, 2026
Country: Netherlands
Format reviewed: High-Quality Digital Recording

#AlbumReview: Sad Whisperings – The Hermit for #MetalChronicles via Vidar Records by Sílvia

Sad Whisperings are back at it again. 33 years after their debut album, “Sensitive to Autumn”, the Dutch atmospheric death/doom metal band released early this year “The Hermit”, an album with a great atmosphere and some eerie passages that make you feel lost in them. Alexander van Leeuwen (vocals and guitars) is the only remaining founding member in the band; he recruited a new bunch of musicians in 2023 after two decades of inactivity, releasing an EP in October 2025 and now this full-length album to delight the fans of this genre.

This album starts in a very soft way, almost ethereal, with a piano and synths intro, drawing a mysterious landscape. When the guitars and bass join, they create a hypnotic melody. Drums unfold little by little, setting a slow and constant pace, and the piano keeps on adding beauty to this first song with some melancholic notes. Vocals are dark, rough, dragging out the words with a peculiar cadence. There are some changes in tempo all through this opening track, and the guitars and the bass entwine delicately doing a great work, captivating the listener.

The way this album begins predisposed me to keep on enjoying it. I was trapped by the music as the album was progressing. The guitar work is amazing, with some delightful solos; and the synths passages add some mystery to the songs. There’s something alluring in Alexander’s vocals, an underlying obscurity, a characteristic harshness. It fits the music perfectly.

The intro of “Shadow Work” sounds disturbing and obscure, guitars and bass set a gloomy atmosphere. Until the song explodes… For me, this one in particular leads me to a labyrinth of shadows and unsettling feelings, with those ghostly voices in the background, the whispered words by Alexander and the all time rambling guitars… This is a great track.

“Universe 25” is a song that starts with very low tuned guitars that crawl through your ears until the drums decide to start marking a slow pace. The incorporation of synths in the background turns the first half of this track into something addictive. And, talking about addictions… I’m totally hooked on “Mystique” and its ominous atmosphere, incorporating some theatrical elements, and the obsessive darkness it distills.

“Estranged” is a delicious closing track, maybe the least dark song in the album, at some moments kind of fragile and delicate; and it’s the perfect ending to it.

When music offers something more than “just music”, I mean when it contains emotion and atmosphere, I’m all in. 8,5/10

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8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory!
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