The story behind Sarajah is that guitarist J.H. formed the band in order to play music inspired by his heroes Black Sabbath, Trouble and Saint Vitus but that also took its influences from nature and Nordic mythology. J.H. was joined in this venture by Magus Corvus (vocals) and H. Wizzard (drums), who also play in cosmic doom metal band Fimir, and Jeff Pekkilä (bass/guitar). 2023 saw the band enter the studio to record songs for an album the result of which is "Sarajah" (Argonauta Records) the bands self-titled debut.
The song "Sarajah", which shares its name with both the band and the album, arrives with a surge of crunchy bass and guitar riffs, propelled by precise, tight drumming. Although Black Sabbath significantly influenced Sarajah's formation, this opening track surprisingly avoids Sabbathian elements and instead channels a groove that is more Maryland, USA than it is Birmingham, UK., a groove that is taken to another level by the unexpected richness and smoothness of the vocals that decorate it. Following is "Lungs of Smoke," a track that finds Sarajah mourning the end of the "age of man" against a backdrop of chugging proto-doom. Despite its heaviness, the song's attack is somewhat relaxed, a quality that enhances its appeal no end. "Long Riders" sees Sarajah embracing their hard rock and heavy metal origins with catchy vocal melodies serving as the centrepiece for pulsating guitar lines and solid rhythms whereas "Journeys of William Barentsz" darkens the mood with riffs and rhythms that embrace a more traditional doom aesthetic. "Home of Arktos" follows and is a tribute to the boreal forests of the bands Finnish homeland, the song begins with gentle acoustic guitar but this soon gives way to a heavy, lumbering doomic groove over which reverent vocals describe a land of "silence, escape, freedom, peace and solitude". The traditional doomic dynamics of the previous song also spill over into its follow up "A Year With Us" only this time a little more staggered and jagged. The band returns to chugging proto-doom for "I Am the Soil," the song featuring a more assertive, almost classic heavy metal groove, Corvus' vocals, imploring listeners to "Dive in me, touch moss and bark," are here supported by slightly more robust rhythms and crunchier guitar textures. Lastly we come to "Underworld" a lyrical mix of legend and lore beneath which pummelling percussion and thrumming bass lay the foundation for guitar textures that are a mix of doomic crunchiness and post-metal shimmer, the songs only shortfall being that it is the last track on an album you really will not want to end.
What Sarajah have done with their debut album is to seamlessly blend the sound of British doom with the more stoner orientated doom of the USA while still managing to retain a strong essence of their own Nordic identity in the resulting mix. It is too early call yet, sitting as we do in the middle of 2024, but "Sarajah" could well be one of the best proto/traditional doom albums released this year.
Check it out ....
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