Band:	Saint Vitus
Album:	Saint Vitus
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	May 17, 2019
A review by:	nikarg

01. Remains
02. A Prelude To...
03. Bloodshed
04. 12 Years In The Tomb
05. Wormhole
06. Hour Glass
07. City Park
08. Last Breath
09. Useless

You already know that all the bands that feature the words "weed", "dope", "bong", etc. as part of their names or their song/album titles should pay royalties to Saint Vitus, right?

Along with bands like Trouble and Pentagram, they were among the pioneers of a style of music that was directly influenced by the first Black Sabbath albums, and their new record was one of the two most eagerly awaited ones for nostalgic doom lovers this year (the other one being The Door To Doom by Candlemass). Bizarrely enough, it is another self-titled release, 35 years after Saint Vitus's debut.

Scott Reagers is back for this one and all you Wino lovers (including the reviewer) should stop whining immediately for two main reasons: the first is that the theatricality of Scott's delivery has always been more interesting than the "stoned" approach of Wino and the second, and maybe more important, is that the last time Saint Vitus were great was with Reagers singing in Die Healing and that was 24 years ago.

The first thing I did when I got the album was to check out its runtime. Saint Vitus are renowned for almost never overstaying their welcome and the only time that they did, in C.O.D., it ended up being a disaster. I was pleased to find out that the album clocks in at just over 41 minutes so the only thing left was to actually listen to the music.

And the music is sweet. At least most of the time.

The beginning is very strong with the slow, heavy and menacing "Remains"; a classic Saint Vitus tune. The two singles "Bloodshed" and "12 Years In The Tomb" are quicker-paced and aggressive doom tracks with great bite and fantastic vocals, even though Chandler's improvisation in the solos went wrong somewhere along the way. "Wormhole" and "Hour Glass" both feature riffs that call for slow motion headbanging or walking dead-like moshing, and "Last Breath" is a truly remarkable song and easily the best of the album, mainly due to its wonderfully dark and foreboding atmosphere.

Saint Vitus had all the ingredients to be grand. The original vocalist is back and he's alive and kicking; in fact, Reagers surprisingly sounds as magnificent as he did decades ago. Chandler's guitar notes are wrapped in his familiar fuzzy distortion and he still churns out the coolest riffs to keep you company when you smoke with purple dragons. The two newer members give their all as well; Pat Bruders offers some super-meaty basslines and Henry Vasquez is impressive, holding one stick borrowed from Bill Ward and the other one from John Bonham. The sound is drier than the Sahara desert, so just like Saint Vitus have chosen it to be throughout their career.

However, and despite all the positives, it must be said that tracks like the doom ballad/intro "A Prelude To..." and especially the noise-y and experimental with spoken word "City Park" are not much more than filler material, and the hardcore/punk (!) closer "Useless" just feels completely out of place.

The band may be considering that they are coming full circle and thus decided to name this album Saint Vitus, but it's up to you to decide if its content entirely justifies this choice. It is definitely a vast improvement on Lillie: F-65 and, although it may feel a bit uneven at times, it allows them to go out on a high and wrap up their very distinguished career; if they actually decide to do so, that is.

"I always feel safe in a sacred place
Far away from the human race"