SATØRI — Pillars of Salt

SATØRI wastes no time in establishing a mood on Pillars of Salt, opening with the dark and grimy "Humiliate Me," rhythmic industrial is coupled with vile vocals and harsh stabs like the introduction to the worst character in our subconscious. The synths that come along to fill out the mix play well with the rhythm and additional drums and add a bit of humanity to the track, almost like someone waking up from a dream right before succumbing to their worst fear. But what is waking, really, but delaying another nightmare? "Razors In My Head" builds on the beat created toward the end of "Humiliate" and ups the ante, creating a haunting chase scene through the collapsing dream factory of the mind. "Intruder" calms things down at the start with a soft bass rhythm, before hitting a wall of noise. Softness prevails, but it isn't long before the anger and rage come back to the fore, and screams of "Get out!" wail through the speakers. "Piggies at the Trough" works along fairly standard industrial lines with the addition of noisy layers adding tension. Slowing it down, "Soil" brings it back to the earth, heavy and dirty. Heading back toward the propulsive side of things, "Transmit" helps move the album ahead after the dirge of "Soil," only to run into the mire of "All Souls." Although this has a beat and rhythm, the sharp rain of noise above the lower drone makes this one feel like being stuck in the mud...in a good way! Heavy, plodding, and noisy, "Nemesis" keeps the listener in a state of despair, with loud screams to punctuate this journey. Further onward in the darkness, "Blackened Skies" pairs rough vocals with rougher noise, creating a pleasurable uneasiness. The tracks on Pillars of Salt generally follow a structural theme, with the first third as a build, middle third as loud, and final third being a mix of the two, usually with the last minute or so being the most abrasive. "Watchmaker" is no exception to this rule, but fits the mold nicely. "We Will Not Starve" dips into the screechiness of hot feedback, which is a welcome addition to the sounds on the album. The next one features Lorenzo Abattoir helping out on the vocals, and "Animal Girl" benefits greatly from his grim and vile delivery. Scorching forth to the finish, "Fear is a Lever" closes out the album on a fiery, feedback fueled note, wrapping up the terror that SATØRI blasted out on Pillars of Salt.

 

Thirteen blazing tracks, Pillars of Salt is a haul of an industrial album, constructed with harsh layers, rough vocals, smooth synths, and bouncing beats. The tracks seem to follow a similar construction to one another which makes the album feel even longer, but if one were to snag random tracks, this wouldn't pose much of a problem. Sometimes the underlying beat doesn't jive so well with the noisy layers, whether due to depth in the mix or just timing issues, but again, this won't pose much of a problem for a casual listen. All in all, Pillars of Salt is a dark and invigorating industrial album and a welcome addition to the SATØRI catalog.