SAOR, the one-man Scottish atmospheric black metal project of Andy Marshall, has released "The Awakening MMXXVI", the second single from Caledonia. The album arrives November 6 via Season of Mist and collects five songs from SAOR's first three records, each re-recorded from scratch.
The original "The Awakening" appeared on 2014's Aura. The new take follows the lead single "Carved in Stone MMXXVI", which came with a music video when the album was announced last month. Lyrically it is one of the most direct songs in the set: a call to learn the lore of the land, a Gaelic cry of "èirich" ("rise"), and a vow to keep to the overgrown path the forefathers walked. A decade of playing it live has reshaped the arrangement, and the re-recording finally gives it the scale Marshall says he always heard in it.
Caledonia is not meant as a nostalgia trip. Marshall made the early SAOR albums alone and on limited means, and the new versions apply everything he has learned since as a producer, arranger and live performer. The record was produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Fielding. Drummer Carlos Vivas, Ella Zlotos on tin whistle, low whistle and Uilleann pipes, and violinist Àngela Moya Serrat fill out the folk instrumentation. Longtime collaborator Anaïs Chareyre-Méjan, who has shaped SAOR's imagery since Forgotten Paths, handled the artwork.
Marshall started the project in Glasgow in 2013 as Àrsaidh before switching to SAOR, Scottish Gaelic for "free". His "Caledonian Metal" pairs tremolo riffing with tin whistle, bagpipes and long, patient song structures, and runs from Roots (2013) through Amidst the Ruins. That last album also marked the point where SAOR became a regular live act on European stages and festivals.
Tracklist:
- Aura MMXXVI
- The Awakening MMXXVI
- Carved in Stone MMXXVI
- Hearth MMXXVI
- Tears of a Nation MMXXVI
Pre-order "Caledonia": orcd.co/saorcaledonia
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