“Alltid” is the latest preview from SAKNA’s lost De Syv Dødssynder full-length, now playing at No Clean Singing.
SAKNA, a one-man band shrouded in mystery since its inception in 2006, is a bastion of the post-second wave of black metal ethos, championing a period where the musicality of black metal overtook the antics of its forefathers. Conceived by the late Canadian multi-instrumentalist Solemn, the project espouses a sound that has been dubbed “a natural extension of Windir;” a seamless fusion of epic Sognametal with emotive atmospheric black metal, DSBM, funeral doom, neo-folk, and dark ambient.
After nearly two decades in relative obscurity, Solemn’s brother S. of post-metal band Lunedi has lifted the curtain on his sibling’s genius, unveiling a plethora of songs that lay hidden from the world for years on old hard drives. With several more years dedicated to the recovery, meticulous mixing, and remastering of the music by Greg Dawson at BWC Studios (Thantifaxath, Panzerfaust), De Syv Dødssynder – SAKNA’s masterpiece and sole full-length album – is finally getting a physical release in 2025 via Canada’s eminent extreme metal label, Hypaethral Records.
Elaborates S. on today’s track, “‘Alltid’ is the only track on the extended release of De Syv Dødssynder to feature real drums, and the sonic impact is instantly apparent. While recording the main tracks in high school, Solemn was mostly limited by the equipment and recording techniques he could manage in his childhood bedroom. That wasn’t the case for ‘Alltid.’ He instead recorded the drums on a real kit in a rehearsal room not far from our house. It was the final ‘heavy’ recording he ever made – followed only by some one-off dungeon synth demos – and I feel very fortunate to have been in the room for the process. God only knows what he might have written with real drum recording at his disposal from the start.”
Writes No Clean Singing in part, “The drums do make an impact, but not at first. Instead, ‘Alltid’ begins with a gentle overture, an acoustic-guitar melody with an ancient aura set against a mystically shimmering ambient backdrop. It creates a musing, meditative, and perhaps pastoral experience, as if reflecting the entranced thoughts of a lone figure alongside a slow woodland stream.
“The overture is soon enveloped by the deep whir of low-frequency chords and the gradually swelling swirl of a vividly trilling lead-guitar. Only the drums seem steady as the music vibrantly soars and expands, seeming to channel both splendor and feverish distress. The music’s intense emotional quality could be interpreted in a different way, but the harrowing intensity of caustic shrieks pulls the interpretation in that disturbed direction.”
Stream SAKNA’s “Alltid” HERE.
Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, Solemn began writing and recording De Syv Dødssynder as its musical adaptation in 2006 at the young age of 14 years old. By the age of 18, he had recorded all of the album’s vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, organs, and drums himself, even leaking an early preview of the single “Del I – Helvete” to YouTube in 2009 which earned SAKNA underground notoriety in black metal circles. His magnum opus drew on such varied influences as Windir, Mournful Congregation, Emperor, Wolves In The Throne Room, Cor Scorpii, and more.
With such a promising musical career ahead of him, Solemn tragically took his own life in 2011, halting the hopes of his brilliance reaching the masses. De Syv Dødssynder and its bonus tracks remain his legacy. Like a time capsule, they offer a glimpse into one of the most artistically intricate forgotten gems of black metal’s infamous history.
All music and instruments on De Syv Dødssynder were written and recorded by Solemn, mixed by S. (Lunedi), and mastered by Greg Dawson.
De Syv Dødssynder will be released on October 31st on CD (Ltd. 300) and digitally as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
Inferno 2xLP (Ltd. 100)
Black 2xLP (Ltd. 200)
Find preorders at the Hypaethral webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE where SAKNA’s cover of Windir’s “Sóknardalr” can be streamed.
De Syv Dødssynder Track Listing:
- Begynnelse – Sti
- Del I – Helvete
- Del II – Skjærsilden
- Del III – Himmel
- Evighet
- Allitid
- Sóknardalr (Windir Cover)
- Berceuse Astrale
https://www.instagram.com/saknaeternus
https://linktr.ee/hypaethralrecords
https://instagram.com/hypaethralrecords
https://www.facebook.com/hypaethralrecords
https://twitter.com/hypaethralrecs
https://www.threads.net/@hypaethralrecords
https://bsky.app/profile/hypaethralrecords.com