Review: “Self Titled” by Sailor Hunter

Like so many have of late, Gothenburg Sweden based Melodic Death Metal quartet Sailor Hunter began life as a solo project before evolving into a fully fledged band. That evolution began in 2018 when guitarist Al Rinald met drummer Kutte Gashi before the pair selected bassist Filip Jovanov and vocalist Stellan Berndtsson to complete the quartet. Geographically their location has given them natural deep roots in the famed Gothenburg sound that inspired the birth of the American Metalcore genre back in 2003 while they also claim inspiration from American Groove Metal, the Mediterranean Sea and Symphony. Since 2020 a steady stream of seven singles has built the foundation for their debut self titled EP, surpassing 281k of Spotify Streams as a collective and paving the way for a deal with Inverse Records.

While it feels like there is a narrative within the band itself as they lay down their inspirations, this debut record is actually a concept release, a true story of death, addiction, love and broken dreams over four guilt edged cuts introduced by “Commence“, a classical symphonic movement arranged by Rinald that cleanses the palette and clears the mind. The record truly begins with the groove heavy “Scarred“, a tale of scars left on the mind and body when things take a turn for the worst. A continuation of the sound that has served the band well over those singles with throat grating vocals from Berndtsson and introspective lyrics about thoughts and feelings resonate but never go as far as Nu-Metal, instead being tinged with the need to rest with the clenched fist of endurance. All that is missing from the opening cut is a solo, it screams out for one and seemingly sensing that, “Life” has an extended one that flows neatly alongside its solid rhythmic pounding as Berndtsson talks of finding meaning in the mistakes of the past and using them to plot a course to a brighter future like a Sailor escaping the dark and stormy waters. Sonically, the orchestral moments are few and far between the band preferring a mid-tempo groove laden rhythmic pummelling with a few clever riffs that allow the lyrics to breathe. That works because the cuts aren’t overly long but the stand out moment is “Icon” which brings an almost spoken word clean vocal and is more orchestrally tinged providing a more rounded sound while the piano and bass segment is pure class. What is missing is a little flamboyance and a couple of real gut punch moments as the story unfolds but there is the distinct sense that those are just around the corner [7/10]

Track listing

1. Commence
2. Scarred
3. Life
4. Alone
5. Icon

“Self Titled” by Sailor Hunter is out 19th May 2022 via Inverse Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp