Band:	Saturnus
Album:	For The Loveless Lonely Nights
Style:	Gothic doom metal
Release date:	October 12, 1998
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Starres
02. For Your Demons
03. Thou Art Free
04. Christ Goodbye [Live at Roskilde Festival '97]
05. Rise Of Nakkiel [Live at Roskilde Festival '97]
06. Consecration

After a magnificent debut album, "Paradise Belongs To You", which had an intense feeling of neo-folk concerning its atmosphere, Saturnus managed to return 2 years later with an EP, "For the Loveless Lonely Nights". The aesthetic of the album is deeply mourning and utterly melancholic and thus no other title would fit better such a beautiful piece of emotional music. The funereal black/white cover harmonizes wonderfully with both the title and the feeling of the album and prepares the listener of what will follow.

As I said above, this EP moves in neo-folk oriented doom/death metal soundscapes and this is the reason why Saturnus up to then had quite a personal sound, because the neo-folk references were making their personal approach more intense. Just listen to "For Your Demons" and if you don't think it is a pure neo-folk composition bringing forth memories of Sol Invictus then you're either deaf or you don't want to accept it. Also, "Consecration" is an ambient/neo-folk atmospheric piece ending the album in the most ideal and dark way and "Thou Art Free" that appears on their second release as well in its purest neo-folk version, is pretty much neo-folk oriented, not so much in the musical interpretation but in its structure And what about the different version of "Fall Of Nakkiel", which appears on "Paradise Belongs To You" and it is a Current 93 oriented composition, bearing the name "Rise Of Nakkiel" on this EP? It's another devout and atmospheric neo-folk piece with a bombastic atmosphere, isn't it?

So, as you can see 4 out of the 6 compositions that consist of "For The Loveless Lonely Nights" are one way or another neo-folk oriented. One of the two songs remaining is a wonderful live version of the renowned "Christ Goodbye" which seems to have a really good sound and a more devout feeling than the original version on their debut album. The members of the band pour themselves to the live interpretation of this doom/death metal opus making its quality, along with the good sound, reach high levels. The other one is the brand new, for the time being, "Starres", a really beautiful and intense ballad with its more powerful and heavier moments that escalate the emotional charge of the song! Still, after 7 years, it remains one of the most beautiful and fragile songs ever composed by Saturnus and it was an honour for me to have cherished what Saturnus and "Starres" mean live.

This EP is a must-have for all the fans of Saturnus not only because it has some new compositions, which are inspired and emotional, but because of its really unique and fragile atmosphere which evokes an esoteric feeling in the air.