Something got into Saturnus' water cooler. One listen to For the Loveless Lonely Nights takes the listener down a path of morose feelings and full dejection. Saturnus has been around for awhile, but the outfit only has three releases to date. This EP, released in 1998, aptly covers their My Dying Bride influenced form of dreamy doom metal. Much of the band's material features quiet guitars, slow, despondent spoken vocals (with occasional bursts of growling) and a backdrop of serene synth washes. The songs often take on an epic feel and meander through their structures rather than blast the point home in a short amount of time. The CD includes a couple live tracks, with "Christ Goodbye" being quite impressive in how it builds slowly to a climax. Generally Saturnus' music has slight resemblance to latter day My Dying Bride, particularly in guitar work. They do add a much more dreamlike atmosphere to their music, which does set them apart a bit. No matter what, this short EP is strong enough to warrant more curiosity into the band's other two releases. Quite a fine release.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 08/2001

Back to top