Formed in 2016, Stygian Fair is a Swedish heavy doom metal band. Rockshots Records is proud to present their fifth album, The Hidden Realm, out now.

Review

The Hidden Realm opens with perhaps the heaviest song on the album, the pummeling title track. The song kicks off the album with a delightfully nasty chugging riff before the song changes to a more straightforward doom direction with the entrance of Andreas Stoltz’s vocals. The song is a good introduction to the album for better and worse: while there are intriguingly heavy riffs, compelling and mournful verses, and an excellent solo, the track doesn’t quite reach the heights that it aims for. Nonetheless, the track is a worthwhile invitation to the album’s depths.

Second track Abide Your Master attempts scathing social critique and falls a little flat, both lyrically and musically. Sardonic arpeggios start the track, and Stoltz’s vocals enter with style – this is one of my favorite vocal moments on the album. Sadly, the album proceeds into overly familiar doom territory for most of its runtime, and the lyrics rehearse a lot of by now tired swipes at how modern people are deluded by false leaders and their lies. Even though I commiserate with these particular ideas, the lyrics fail to capture these feelings in new or particularly fervent terms. A well-written and -played solo fails to bring this song quite up to snuff in terms of intriguing songwriting. While not a bad song by most metrics, this song captures the feeling I have for most of the album, which is that it needs a little more fire, fury, or even melancholy to set it apart from the crowd.

Into the Well contains one of the most compelling riffs on the album, a fun play on Candlemass’ titanic riffage that counterbalances well Stoltz’s earnest vocal stylings. Indeed, this is also one of Stoltz’s standout moments on the album, with his vocals finding opportunities for dynamic accents throughout the track. The song also shifts between and juggles many moods with aplomb, moving from hard-edged spookiness to mournful doom and into a neo-classical solo that provides a heaping spoonful of atmosphere that some of these songs are missing. Without question a standout track on the album. If all of the songs on this record had the memorability and (to borrow a phrase from the food world) craveability, it would be a resounding success.

Peel the Layers Off continues on the trajectory laid out by Into the Well, and these songs form the best one-two punch on the record. Every time I put this album on, I find these songs so compelling that I wonder why I don’t feel more strongly about the high quality of the album as a whole (more on that shortly). As a duo of songs, these tracks bring a fresh mixture of the very different kinds of mourning found in the music of Candlemass and Queensryche. I wish that Stygian Fair would lean more into the pop sensibilities in these two tracks, as they really can put together a compelling, memorable, and downright anthemic chorus, as demonstrated here.

What You’re Fighting For opens with an ascending guitar lick that drops off into heavy but plaintive guitar hits, and this switch up is deeply affective. The track then falls into slightly less interesting territory with another mid-tempo but largely fangless doomy verse and chorus. By no means a failure of a song, this one just doesn’t quite hit the heights of grandeur and memorability as the previous two tracks. Still, the middle section of this album makes a good case for Stygian Fair as a band with a unique sound. However, I already start to feel the album slump at this point on repeat listens, not even halfway through the tracklist.

All of Us opens with another lugubrious arpeggio over which Stoltz sings, and this track already feels a little too familiar. This song approaches radio-friendly hard rock territory, and Stygian Fair almost pulls it off. That being said, this song suffers from the same problem that plagues much of the second half of the album: the songs just don’t catch in the memory. This one is particular short, and I’m left wondering why it made it onto the album, as it feels half finished.

Dawn picks up the tempo a little, and with the faster tempo comes a burst of energy. This track nicely balances gloom and melody. I don’t find myself humming its chorus by any means, but when it’s playing I’m engaged and interested. If this were the low point on the album, it would be a triumph for Stygian Fair.

Meteor ups the ante – the song kicks in the door with an exhilarating, crunchy, chugging riff. This song boasts one of the more memorable guitar riffs on the album. The song also builds to a satisfying chorus and one of the few true sing along moments on the album. Another album highlight, Meteor finds Stygian Fair again mixing Candlemass’ funereal heaviness with Queensryche’s anthemic vocal stylings, and it’s a winning combination through and through.

Sadly, Anthem of the Lost sheds some of the momentum gained by Meteor, treading through midtempo hard rock riffs that could use a bite or edge to take them to the next level. The chorus is catchy, though, and features some interesting guitar harmonies. I find myself a little frustrated by Stygian Fair at this point: I think these songs just needed a little more work, and a good dose of ambitious energy. It feels like something is missing here, something to give this song more identity and intrigue.

Rise from the Shadows has elements of promise – unsurprisingly in the introduction and chorus, where Stygian Fair most often shines – but I am again looking for something to really latch onto. The drums on this song just don’t quite click and give that driving feeling that this kind of riffing calls for. That being said, the song detours into a very pretty guitar solo, and it’s a fresh twist that takes this song, if only for a moment, to unexpected territory. Another song that could use polishing.

To close out the album, Stygian Fair goes heavy on The Fervor of Fools. This song is in my mind a better version of what the band attempted on Abide Your Master. The riffage on this one can hit hard, but there are some slip ups that diminish the overall feeling of the song. This song cements the album as a commendable effort that doesn’t always hit the mark.

Conclusion

I can respect the directness, earnestness, and honesty with which Stygian Fair has crafted the songs on The Hidden Realm. At its best, this album offers memorable, hooky choruses on top of burly doom riffs. But, sadly, I cannot find much across The Hidden Realm’s 47 minutes that truly thrills me. There are occasional flashes of daring musicality, heart rending melody, and intriguingly foreboding atmosphere here, and those moments are worthy of high praise. At the same time, the album feels, on occasion, too safe; the songs that take a swipe at modern life avoid criticizing anyone in particular. In a similar vein, there are many doom metal riffs, lyrics, and melodies here that simply sound a little too familiar. As a result, The Hidden Realm is a mixed bag whose grandiose heights are weighted down by too much middling baggage.

As a collection of songs, The Hidden Realm has something to offer listeners who enjoy the crushing heaviness of Candlemass and the anthemic pomp of Queensryche. The highlights on this album are indeed intriguing ventures into this largely unexplored territory. However, the weaker tracks here bog down the good work done by the album’s highlights, and, as a cohesive whole, this album doesn’t come together into a compelling package. I’m left wondering if Stygian Fair was perhaps rushed in the studio or the rehearsal space. The good ideas here have left me wanting more, and I will give whatever Stygian Fair cooks up next a definite try. That being said, The Hidden Realm is interesting in short bursts but a little exhausting in total.

TheNWOTHM Score: 7.0/10 

Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stygianfair/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stygianfair

Label: https://www.rockshots.eu

Bandcamp: https://stygianfair.bandcamp.com/music

Out now!

Current Line-up:
Andreas Stoltz: Vocals, Guitar
Emil Holmqvist: Guitar
Anders Hedman: Bass
P-O Jonsson: Drums