Review: Sojourner – Gateways
Back on the shadowed road
It’s been a while since I’ve heard from Sojourner. They are a band with a vast international lineup—with musicians ranging from New Zealand, USA, Italy and now South Africa—who previously made an impact in developing their own take on the epic/atmospheric black metal sound inspired by Summoning. They came out with an impressive 2016 debut in Empires of Ash and followed up with a personal favorite of mine in 2018’s The Shadowed Road. Following another good release in 2020’s Premonitions, they’ve gone through various lineup switches including two changes on the clean vocals position which is now headed by Heike Langhans, formally of Swedish melodic death/doomers, Draconian. I was curious to see how Heike’s voice blends in to Sojourner’s sound as I enjoyed her vocal performances in Draconian.
Gateways starts off with a bang thanks to the opening track, “Dawnrays.” It begins with a synth intro as you expect with these types of bands, but I love how the way it transitions to more ferocious melodic guitar riffing and harsh vocals as the song proceeds. Once you start hearing Heike, you know she’s a fresh and welcome addition to the band who really fits into Sojourner’s ethereal sound like a glove. This is followed up really well by “And The Painting Falls” which shows how the band’s harsh vocalist, Emilio, and Heike work gracefully together to blend their vocal styles. It’s a great example of the “Beauty and the Beast” vocal trope, executed well.
The next track, “Lunar Tear,” does a good job showing off more range from both vocalists throughout and it’s also another lovely display of melodic guitar playing which suffuses the album. I really love the pacing of the percussion and riffing in “Occultation;” in addition, the vocalists create an epic atmosphere that will be familiar to fans of the band. “Epitaphs” is another impressive song that thrives in its atmosphere and shows off another standout performance from Heike. It’s just one more sign why her addition to the band has been such a success; she soars through the majestic moments they’re known for, adding an ethereal presence through her voice.
The more heavily Summoning-inspired side of the album is shown in “Vvradenfell;” this track has a fantastic drumming intro that shows off the drummer at the top of his game. (It’s probably my favorite track on this latest effort for me.) Gateways closes with “The Road Ahead,” a track title that feels like a nod to previous Sojourner material, such as The Shadowed Road in particular. This is an epic finish to a strong comeback record that shows off everything the band has displayed in this latest effort.
After 6 years since their last album, it’s great to see Sojourner back, especially when they return as strongly as they did on this record. Gateways thrives on what I enjoyed in previous Sojourner records and the addition of Heike lends another layer to their sound. It would be difficult for this to beat a personal favorite like The Shadowed Road but this is certainly one of the stronger records in their discography. Welcome back, Sojourner.
4/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Gateways is out now via Avantgarde Music.
