Review by Jack on October 26, 2002.

““Saviour” is an experimental dark orchestral ambient electronic dub that can be referenced to a sinister Portishead meets a more haunting Anathema” (The End Records, 2002). If you can glean some light from this than good luck to you, and you needn’t read my review as you are already off the record store in search of this grim work, but for the rest of you please read on...

After having “Saviour” for well over a month, I am still not overly sure what to make of it. It doesn’t sit very comfortably with me for the entirety of the 11 tracks (two bonus acoustic tracks), however that is not to say that Antimatter have put out a bad album, for that would be a silly assumption to make. “Saviour” is an album that makes ‘evil’ music weep in a way it has never done before. ‘Haunting’ is a very apt term to describe the music of Antimatter, yet at the same it is also ‘beautifully haunting’, because Antimatter is a band based around atmosphere and minimalist music arrangements. No bombastic riffs, no obscure drum poundings; just pure atmosphere and class. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Saviour” creates the dark atmospheres and auras that scores of symphonic black metal bands would dedicate their black souls to Satan in order to achieve just a whiff of.

Bottom Line: Maybe the reason “Saviour” doesn’t sit terribly well with me is because there is just something unnatural about it. It eats away at me. It is eerie, yet majestic. Undeniably, Antimatter is a class act, and “Saviour” is testament to their ability. Worth checking out for the atmosphere, if nothing more.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8
Originality: 7
Overall: 7

Rating: 8 out of 10