Review by Nathan on March 15, 2021.

Leave it to The Artisan Era to pluck a band that had completely flown under the radar and thrust them into my regular listening rotation. At first you aren’t really sure what this is trying to be. Is it another wanky Inferi clone? A more progressive version of Insomnium, or perhaps a more technical Be’lakor? Early Cynic reimagined for the modern era?

It’s only when you get halfway through Impermanence and feel like it just started that you realize Stortregn is much, much more than the sum of whatever their influences are. This is a twelve-star buffet of guitar noodles stringing you in every which direction, yet they seem to know exactly how long to stick around before they wear out their welcome. There are epic riffs, catchy riffs, techy riffs, beautiful riffs, all garnished with delicious bass noodles, powerful roars, and drumming with fills that are as smooth as room-temperature butter.

Normally I’m not big on the “everything and the kitchen sink” approach to music in general, I tend to prefer it when sounds are integrated, but Stortregn are master songwriters, with a chemistry and necessity to the way one section of a song flows into another. They overlap tracks frequently, using a lull in energy to shift into the next movement, creating that “full album” feel as the ups and downs are strung between the songs. The careful balance between the Naglfar/Dissection-esque melodic black metal, the progressive melodic death, and the slick fretboard mastery constantly keeps the unexpected coming at you with the entire album constantly adding a new movement to the story. Stortregn try a little bit of everything on this album and they nail whatever they attempt - they’re the jack of all trades with a few aces up their sleeve, and they’ve structured the full album in a way that you’re always simultaneously enjoying the moment you’re in and looking forward to what’s coming up next. I can listen to Impermanence three times in a row and pick a different element to dial in on each time around, thoroughly enthralled the entire time.

There are a few things that set Stortregn above the pack of bands that attempt this type of approach. For one, the chemistry and give-and-take between the band members is done perfectly. You can tell every single one of these guys are extremely talented, but they each take turns giving each other the spotlight. Sometimes the focus will be on the guitars - every song has like a minimum of six solos and 9 times out of 10 they’re filthy. Sometimes, the bass will make its way into the foreground, sometimes the vocalist’s roar with incredible resonance and duration forces its way in, and occasionally the drums pull out a jazzy backbeat that catches your attention, in attention to the smooth, efficient blasting with lots of texture keeping the songs moving - the extended section in 'Timeless Splendor' being a notable example (the bass lick in that part is quite sexy as well).

Really, if I keep going, every song is going to be mentioned because all of them have something that makes me go “shit that was cool” at least once. I am thoroughly floored I have never heard this band before, and I am going to have to binge on their discography now because for an extreme metal nut like myself, this is a smorgasbord of delicious music that is both insatiably addictive and multifaceted enough to keep me coming back for a long time. I will be very surprised if this isn’t still in my regular listening rotation by the end of the year. Yet another home run from this fantastic label, and what luck, Stortregn has four albums before this I have to catch up on now!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Adam M on April 24, 2018.

Sinistro bring a lot of passion and drama to the table with their album Sange Cassia.  This is a post metal album that has a flavor all its own.  There really isn’t any post metal band that sounds like Sinistro and their take on the genre has charisma and energy.  There are some more somber moments on this disc that make is a varied and diverse offering. 

It has the proper atmosphere to take over the listener’s attention at all points. This still isn’t as strong as the best works from Cult of Luna and Neurosis, for example, but still carries forth the big gigantic riffs in large measure.  Still even with the power, the band is almost sensual in their approach and applies this type of method to their wares.  The vocalist is a somber female one that suits the material quite well.  She is perhaps the most subtle element to the songs as they carry a great deal of poignancy towards the listener.  This album is certainly dynamic, though it is heavy in a somber sort of way.  This is really appropriate to hear, however, because there haven’t been many albums of a similar style this year.  This lends the band a niche in the metal market that is very difficult to avoid.  Though there have been superior albums of the style by Isis and the bands already mentioned, this album really does stick its nose out and try to do something different. It is an interesting array of guitar riffs and mood changes wrapped into one.  The album is very emotive and able to convey the sensual feeling quite well.

For this reason, this is one of the better albums from the genre you’ll probably hear this year.  This comes highly recommended to post metal fans.    

Rating: 7.8 out of 10