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Album Review: Saor - Amidst The Ruins (2025, Season of Mist)


Written: 1st February 2025


A project envisaged and devised by vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and proud Scot Andy Marshall, Saor has built a reputation for atmospheric metal that melds a love of several sub-genres. Self-described as Caledonian metal, Saor also very much inhabits the realms of black metal and folk metal. Amidst The Ruins is the band’s sixth full-length album and the first since the well-received Origins in 2022.


Amidst The Ruins consists of five epic tracks with running times from eight to fourteen minutes (only one dips below the ten minute mark). Opening with the title track, this love of longer tracks allows Marshall to create endlessly inventive layers of atmosphere, allowing each song to develop steadily and naturally. Amidst The Ruins begins with mysterious synths carried to the listener as if on a distant breeze. However, it is mere seconds before the crunching riffs and glorious percussion descend with serious intent. As the track begins to settle, rapid black metal riffs merge with some haunting piano in the background and the Scottish influences within Marshall’s music come to the fore. The sense of scale is immense and it is easy to imagine the vast landscapes of Caledonia stretching before us. On a track that encourages resilience and defiance, Saor’s fierce pride in their heritage shines bright in the lyrics. In the age of apathy, where comfort blinds the eye / We'll rise from the ashes, reclaim what time denies / Hollow echoes in the chambers of our soul / As we tread on sacred soil, a heritage untold. With poignant connections to ancestral wisdom, there is a sense of something needing to be reclaimed. There are quieter, more reflective moments during the title track and Saor’s music. Each of these is used effectively with time in the track for each instrument to fully breathe. The listener feels like a true part of the music, almost as if invited on the quest that Marshall is planning.



Second track, Echoes of the Ancient Land begins with more aggressive riffs and Marshall snarling with inflamed passion. There is a feeling of a restless spirit running throughout the album and during the initial part of Echoes of the Ancient Land, the drums rampage and thunder. The folk elements of Saor’s music and intertwined consistently with the more metallic aspects. The use of tin whistles and low whistles together with violin, viola and cello and some beautiful Uilleann pipes help to conjure visions of the natural beauty of Scotland on a track that lyrically explores themes of ancestry and a bond between the present and the past. Amongst the towering pines, where shadows intertwin / I trace the footprints left in the tapestry of time / The forest stands as witness to the tales it gently holds / Of ancient souls who ventured through these glens and woods untold. Considering the length of the tracks, Saor’s music does not contain a large number of lyrics and definitely allows the listener the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the emotions that each instrument is helping to create.


During the first two minutes of Glen of Sorrow, there is the aura of something regal yet ominous. Slow, dark chords flow towards us until a second guitar begins with a plaintive but expectant cry. When the drums begin, we are thrown into feelings of movement and determination. This continues until a military style drum beat leaves us in no doubt that we are preparing for war. An enraged rebuttal on the massacre at Glencoe in 1692, Glen of Sorrow is a call to arms and with blast beats and some of the most aggressive vocals of the album, it certainly stirs something inside the listener. Even at twelve minutes long, Glen of Sorrow passes in what seems like a few fleeting minutes, Marshall allowing us to indulge our own senses and join him on this quest. Arise! O ancestors, from the depths below / Arise! To witness our sorrow, to feel our woe / Arise! In these glens where we fell, betrayed and were slain / Arise! Grant us strength to ascend, to break from our chains.


The Sylvan Embrace, at eight minutes, is the shortest track. Perfectly positioned on the album, Saor allow seraphic moods and a chimeric, ethereal veil to descend around us. With an emphasis on the therapeutic powers of nature and calm, the song is a deliberately placed tonic to the fiery belligerence of the opening three songs. Fully embracing his folk influences and the use of space, Marshall has composed a track that cleanses our minds and our spirits. Follow the song of the trees, forest of healing grace / Leading the way to our sanctuary, our sacred place. Bringing something entirely different to the album, the vocals on The Sylvan Embrace are a combination of distant, ghostly whispers from Marshall and tender female vocals. A gorgeous piece of music.



The peaceful ambiance is shattered as final track, the fourteen minute Rebirth begins. A wonderful combination of black metal and folk metal, it is a multi-part epic that draws on everything that has come before on Amidst The Ruins. A little before the nine-minute mark, there is an exquisite transitory section that changes the feel of the track from rampant black metal to a full celebration of the Scottish lore that lives and breathes across the album’s length. The final two minutes contain some of the best drumming on the album, restless and fervent. As the percussion dies away, we are left with music that could only have Scotland as its origin.


Photo credit: David Ruff
Photo credit: David Ruff

On Amidst The Ruins, Andy Marshall continues to display his Scottish colours, heritage and wish for a better future with pride. While it would be easy to dismiss many of the lyrics as historical indulgences, this would fail to consider the importance of the values, emotions and feelings of honour that are often lacking from the modern world. Marshall manages to link evocative messages and lessons from the past that we would do well to heed in today’s society.


Musically, this will appeal to many fans of atmospheric black metal and folk metal. It does not contain the unbridled, savage fury of old school black metal and without doubt, the production values lift it above such comparisons. It will find a home with listeners who value thought-provoking metal music that allows them time to immerse themselves in a song’s construction. With lengthy songs that demand your full attention in order to gain the most appreciation, Amidst The Ruins pounds with a steadfast heartbeat, and has songs with unflinching fortitude and intoxicating use of melody while sometimes shrouding us with moments of celestial elegance. Moving, epic and mesmeric.


Amidst The Ruins is released on 7th February 2025



Follow Saor:

Official Website: https://www.saormusic.com




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