SOLITUDE AETURNUS and 'Downfall'

nightsblood · Post by **nightsblood** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:12 pm

SA is an old favorite. After discovering and digesting Candlemass, I wanted more of the same style, and SA delivered classy, epic doom. Finding a band like this in the early 90s here in the US was incredible. I first read about them in MANIC REACTION (Sue NOltz's old zine) and though it took a while to track down their music, it was worth the effort. THeir style has changed over the years, but they've put out several top-notch albums.

I think most folks would agree that SA have put out several great albums during their career. If asked which is my favorite, my knee-jerk answer is always 'Into the Depths of Sorrow'. However, the one I play the most is far and away 'Downfall'.

SA always did a good job of giving each album it's own identity. 'Into the Depths' has it's etheral, otherworldly beauty; 'Crimson Horizon' takes that sound and injects some basic, 'sabbath heaviness into it; 'Through the Darkest Hour' delivers more leaden slabs of pitch darkness. And then comes 'Downfall', which strikes a great balance hereon between the hallowed, the haunting, and the heavy elements that surfaced on previous albums.

The track list is assembled in a great order, making each song stand out on its own while creating a strong 'flow' as you move through the album. From the dark overtones of 'Phantoms' setting the stage you get the creepy, crawling pace of 'Only This', only to move into the fevered images of 'Midnight Dreams'. 'Together and Wither' returns you to a harrowing, desolate place before 'Elysieum' again changes the landscape into something shrouded in layers of mist and dementia. The album then storms to life with the incredible cover of 'Death Wish'; I'm not a huge CHRISTIAN DEATH fan but this cover is simply amazing (and it was one of CD's best tracks). And after 'These are the Nameless' returns to the core sound of the album (dark, hopeless, and melancholy), you get the incredible 'Chapel of Burning', which sounds like it was leftover from one the their first two albums and would have been among the best tracks from either. 'Concern' then brings things to a somber close.

'Downfall' also sticks with me because, IMO, it was their last truly great album. Try as I might, I've never gotten into 'Adagio'; it always leaves me disappointed, feeling as though the songs weren't finished. And for reasons unknown I've never fully digested 'Alone'; my sense is that it's a good record, but I just never absorbed it very well (it's back in my cd player these days being revisited).

(may come back and edit this some later, gotta post and run for now)

Moonchild · Post by **Moonchild** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:38 pm

Love SA! And Downfall is great for sure but my fave is Beyond the Crimson Horizon. It's just such a wonderfully crafted slab of doom from beginning to end. Their last LP Alone is awesome as well one of the best doom albums in the last decade.

msp · Post by **msp** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 10:14 pm

Brilliant band. I adore "Into the Depths of Sorrow". Probably my most favourite record of all time. I had a musical epiphany the first time I heard it back in 1992. I still get goosebumps when I listen to it now. In my view they have never put out an album any less than excellent.

Black Axe · Post by **Black Axe** » Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:41 pm

Never checked out Downfall that much. I heard that it was rubbish. I listened to it a couple of times, I agreed and never spun it again.

FuneralCircle · Post by **FuneralCircle** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 1:16 am

Fucking outstanding band, but I have to say I have never heard Downfall. In fact, it's their only album I haven't heard because I too also heard it was garbage....

That being said, "Alone" from 2006 is fucking phenomenal and I love it to death!! Solitude Aeturnus are one of my biggest influences, love the occasional arabesque moments in the music they'd incorporate, gave the sound a really cool arcane feeling.

EDIT: Actually, mistake on my part! I have Downfall, I just mixed it up with Adagio, that is the one I haven't heard.

I actually really do like Downfall but it's the one I've heard least. Chapel of Burning is a great song and one of my favorites from this band.

nightsblood · Post by **nightsblood** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 2:13 am

'Into the Depths of Sorrow' had the same affect on me. Soon as I heard it, I instantly knew, "this is one of those albums I've been searching for!". I don't play it that often anymore, but I still love it. I stumbled into my copy of it by pure luck. Upon visiting the local indie store near campus one day with my girlfriend, the guy who ran the store (who I was already on a first-name basis with) told me he had just put out a bunch of stuff in the used CD bin that I might find interesting. The campus radio station had cleaned off its shelves and sold a bunch of discs to the store. They'd been laying around for months and he never had time to sort them, so he just put 'em all out in a cardboard box at $5 each. Lo and behold, there it sat in the box; I had been DYING to hear the album since reading that Manic Reaction interview. Also picked up Dark Angel's 'Time Does Not Heal' from that box

'Beyond the Crimson Horizon' was a very hard album for me to get into. I liked it, but the songs just would not stick. It took a lot of spins paying a lot of attention to get them to sink in.

'"Adagio'... I've always had trouble putting my finger on what exactly is wrong with that album. For one thing, it's got too many songs on it; it's the only SA album to surpass 10 tracks. With that many songs, you're looking at shorter songs with a higher probability of some filler creeping in. Other little things also just seem off. The occasional use of vocal distortion adds nothing and is unnecessary. A couple of songs don't go anywhere. There's that short acoustic number with Perez (I think) singing, and it just seems totally out of place. And it's never a good sign when a cover tune is far and away your favorite track on an album (they smoke 'Heaven and Hell'). It's not bad, and a few songs, like 'Days of Prayer', are indeed good. But overall the album just does not deliver for me; it's not terrible, but I always put it back on the shelf feeling a bit let down.

OK, someone else's turn to ramble

deathster · Post by **deathster** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:22 am

I love the band, but for me the "Downfall" album is one of the weakest (though "Deathwish" is killer track).
My fave would be "Through the Darkest Hour" followed by "Adagio" (heavy stuff there). They are one of the few bands I really want to see live (along with Candlemass).

ION BRITTON · Post by **ION BRITTON** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:51 am

Not on par with the previous three, but, yes, I'd also say that it's their last great one as I didn't like neither Adagio nor Alone. My favourite one will always be 'Into the depths of sorrow', 'Mirror of sorrow' and 'Where angels dare to tread' are two of those tracks that have left a mark on my soul.

mordred · Post by **mordred** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 3:40 pm

Downfall is fucking excellent. Probably my 2nd fave after the debut, maybe tied with Crimson Horizon. The only SA album I don't really like is Adagio.

Lama · Post by **Lama** » Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:18 pm

"Downfall" is a very underrated SA-record. It's a bit more raw and to-the-point than the rest of their output, and that may be the reason why so many people don't like it, or even don't care to check it out. Wrong decision I think, because to me there's not a weak moment on the album!

Keir · Post by **Keir** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 6:12 am

Into The Depths Of Sorrow is my favorite surprise album of all time. I remember seeing it at Rocket Records, my local metal supplier, shortly after it came out. I knew absolutely nothing about them, but I was in the mood for something different and it "looked cool" so I bought the tape. As I was driving home I popped it in.... "Dawn Of Antiquity" sounded much like the intro to any doom/death album that I was listening to at the time. Then "Opaque Divinity" started and I liked the heavy, crushing guitars, but I was still waiting for the vocals to decide, expecting the usual growls. Finally, Lowe began to sing and I was so blown away I had to pull over. I still remember sitting on the side of the road that night, reading the lyrics on the inlay card. I couldn't start driving again until the song was over.

The next 3 albums obviously didn't have the same effect on me, but they are all great. Actually, I was quite disappointed with Downfall at first but then it grew on me over time and is now my second favorite of theirs. Had no idea until now that "Deathwish" was a cover! Didn't care for Adagio and never heard anything after that.

lynx · Post by **lynx** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 3:10 pm

Was this band at all influential in the gothic doom genre? I listened to their first album, and while being traditional doom, the clean vocals (and also the music) sound a lot more gothic than early Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride, which were just doomy death metal.

They could also be somewhat of a precursor to funeral doom too.

Sgt. Kuntz · Post by **Sgt. Kuntz** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 7:52 pm

"Downfall" could be the one SA album that is underrated, though my favorite will always be "Beyond The Crimson Horizon", which happens also to be my first SA album.

A damn fine band, i even like "Adagio" when it came out, don't know why this one is sometimes under heavy criticism from the hardcore followers of the band.

Mazez · Post by **Mazez** » Mon Nov 15, 2010 3:42 am

One of my top 5 bands. I love everything by them, but Beyond is my favorite by far. When I first heard Downfall I was disappointed with it. But after a few listens, it really grew on me. Together and Wither is my favorite on that album. Such a heavy riff with the desolate message. You have to love it.

GJ · Post by GJ » Mon Nov 15, 2010 9:48 am

Ah, I got to have a SA-themed evening sometime soon. Alway found them sympathetic (at least to the point making me buying most of their albums upon release), but still they are yet to blow me away. Guess it may be that "too many records, too little time" aspect that have made me abandoning them too early and then sort of missing them when browsing through the record shelves later on. After reading your comments I realize I need to deep-dive back into all of their stuff (believe I got them all, including the demo album from Doomed Planet and some split 7-inch with Iron Rainbow).

I also see the last few albums seem to have dissapointed many of you. I can't say I got that impression myself - always thought they were pretty consistent qualitywise. I need to compare them to the older stuff and see if I get the point...