Okay, this one might hurt a bit, well, in fact it might hurt a lot, but let me tell you, there is a certain silver lining to be found in nearly everything, also in the sad story behind Sakna‘s lone and only record De Syv Dødssynder. Nevertheless, one must walk through the shadow of death to arrive at the beginning of the horizon. Let’s walk this path together.
Sakna was the lone project of Solemn, its mastermind and sole member who wrote, composed, recorded and eventually put everything together. And who took his life after the recording was completed. A young man, not even 20 years old when he did “it”, who did not envision more to come and thus took the only way possible for him, a road that should never be the only one, not even the most accessible one. Solemn had started Sanka at the age of 14 and roughly five years later finished this recording, one that wasn’t finished yet. All the things were recorded, but seemingly not mixed, let alone mastered. These tasks were taken on by his brother S., who is a member of another Black Metal band from Canada, Lunedi. (Side-Note: together the brothers also released ”Distractions of Living Alone”, an amazing Woods of Ypres cover). S. took on browsing through recordings and hard drives in order to completely finalize the work that his brother had been working on for such a long time, a spiral he could not ascend anymore but only walk towards its foot, hence following the idea of Dante’s Comedia that was also the basis for De Syv Dødssynder.
Now, let’s try to leave the story behind Sakna behind for a moment, even though it can’t be anything more than an attempt to do so. Let us focus on the record itself: Originally intended to contain five tracks, divided into a prelude, a three-song suite and an outro, it now also contains three bonus tracks, one of them is a cover of the Windir song ”Sorknardair” - this choice of cover already says a lot: Just like Windir, Sakna is giving us highly Atmospheric Black Metal tracks bordering on DSBM – and let me tell you: This record could keep up with all of the forefathers and torchbearers of the genre, be it Agalloch, Windir, Kampfar, Lifelover, Ghost Bath, Wolves in the Throne Room and so on. I have hardly come across a more prolific record in the last years whose sheer beauty gave me such chills and made me so highly emotional. Every little bit is just simply perfect – the samples church bells, the timing of the guitar pickings, the amazing touch on the drums, the little tiny details that we get here by the dozen on each track. Nevertheless, also the blastbeats, the psychedelic guitar solos, the powerful shrieks and screams, the singular instrumentation sometimes sounding like a classical ensemble, the way that the songs’ elements reach into each other, lead from one part to the next. S. has really done a great job mixing the songs – it audibly was an “affaire du coeur” - a very painful one but hopefully he can now sit back, listen to the record and see the brilliant man that his brother undeniably was. Greg Dawson also did an amazing job mastering the record and every metal fan should be unbelievably thankful to both for making this record possible.
A brilliant young man, not even 20 years old when he did “it”. And here I want to emphasize that “it” is something very different than before: “It” is something so immaculate and so perfect, so pure and so irresistible. I am sure that no one can listen to this record and not find oneself jaw dropped wide open, positively melancholic, reveling in the Solemn’s songs, his cadence, flow and genius. Let us NOT only connect this record with sadness and sorrow but also with talent and triumph. Yes, triumph, for anybody who was able to compose such flawless songs surely overcame many obstacles. The sheer potential of this record and these songs, to become one of the top 10 lonely-island-records must have been one of the reasons that S. and Greg kept on pounding until the record was finished. For Solemn, for us, for S.
And now I only want to say one thing: If you feel as if nothing could help anymore, as if there is nothing here – please do not hesitate and ask for help. There are a plethora of organizations that will provide help and light – there is no need to be ashamed. (Nearly) everybody has had the abyss look back into him once. Don’t be ashamed, pick up a phone.
