Sarajah - Sarajah

Angry Metal Guy

One of the most effective hooks to guarantee my initial interest in an album will always be some form of seafaring or spacefaring vessel on the cover art. I’ve maintained for years that there’s a strange, cosmic connection between a ship on an album cover and quality music. I don’t make the rules. I just follow them. So, it was easy for me to snatch up Finnish doom metal outfit Sarajah as they prepare their self-titled debut for release. A fine ship graces its cover, giving me a potentially unjustified boost of confidence that Sarajah would be great. Bias in tow, I dove right in. Yet, the cosmos that once never let me down betrayed me. Sarajah ain’t bad, but falls short of my hopes.

Doom metal bands fall into several different categories, but they all share common touchstones. Sarajah is no exception to that rule. Sarajah’s slow and stomping riffs, often touched by the blues and a smoky swagger, grant their music a specific kind of heft that can move mountains with even the simplest passage. It’s a particular songwriting methodology established and perfected by staples like Black Sabbath and Trouble. Combining that basic template with inspiration drawn from Nordic culture and mythology, along with aesthetics pulled from the stoner doom subcategory, Sarajah’s sound serves to impart epic tales of the past and of legend. Stripped-down instrumentation requires that sense of scale be carried by the sheer might and muscularity of Sarajah’s songwriting, entailing memorable hooks and uncomplicated structures that leave a long-lasting impact. I’m not convinced Sarajah succeeds in that regard, but it does make an effort.

Sarajah by Sarajah

Sarajah possesses a rare quality: its best moments sneak up on you like a silent killer. Album highlights such as “Lungs of Smoke,” “Long Riders,” and “Home of Arktos” continue to haunt my daily routine without much reinforcement, and each showcase a different set of tools in Sarajah’s doom arsenal. “Lungs of Smoke” combines the mournful march of Black Sabbath with vocals that are a dead ringer for modern Amorphis—a combination I never considered before but definitely want more of now. It’s main verse and chorus, while understated, carry a classiness that helps secure a permanent slot in my memory bank. “Long Riders” is tailor-made for a sleazy bar crawl in the dead of night, its riffs slithering and sultry as they swing through my auditory canal. “Home of Arktos” bursts with an unexpected bout of passion in the final third, which so far hasn’t failed to perk my ears way up regardless of what occupies my mind at the time. A commanding moment to be sure, though it comes with a two-minute wait time that might test some listeners’ patience.

With these exceptions in mind, Sarajah remains, unfortunately, a lackluster and languid affair. Its riffs sit consistently within the bounds of what’s been long established by the genre’s pioneers, almost to the point of plagiarism (“Sarajah,” “I Am the Soil”). Unlike Amorphis’ vocals, Sarajah’s lack dynamics for most of the album’s mercifully tight thirty-seven-minute runtime, and thereby create a monotonous storytelling experience (“Journeys of Willem Barentsz”). Some songs, such as the self-titled opener and “A Year With Us,” feel rushed and unfinished, either wrapping up abruptly or failing to develop what could’ve been a great idea. Yet, other songs overstay their welcome by stretching out a decent theme far past what it’s capable of supporting (“Underworld”). Most damning of all, however, is the universally questionable level of interest this record offers. Regardless of the unique issues that lead each song into the lightless, soundless void, the end result is the same. Very little of this material makes an impression of any kind, leaving me feeling like I’ve sunk time after every spin.

The difficult truth about Sarajah is that it’s not technically a bad record. It is, however, a painfully safe one. These musicians are competent and capable, but when it comes to songwriting, there’s a lot to be desired and not much of anything to say. With so few compelling ideas to speak of, I find myself with a dearth of words for Sarajah. But, at least I know I can sum it up with one.

Rating: Disappointing.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Argonauta Records
Websites: facebook.com/sarajahfin | sarajah.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: July 19th, 2024

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