Symbion Project - Saturnine
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
Symbion Project’s Saturnine is melancholy, aching with deep emotion and full of fragility and a tenuous thread of hope in the face of loss and hurt. The combination of Kasson Crooker’s (Symbion Project) sonic tapestries with Mars Nord’s affecting lyrics and powerful voice results in elegiac, expressive music that touches my heart.
Mars Nord’s songwriting ability and emotive, wide-ranging voice combine to produce an intense emotional effect on me. There’s a depth of pained loss and tragic yearning in his words and his vocal performances that I find it impossible not to be moved by it. The way he can move between sonorous depths and fragile heights with his voice mingles with his evocative lyrics to touch me on a primal level.
Kasson Crooker effectively captures the emotional tenor of the lyrics and vocals with his musical backing. He paints melancholy soundscapes with tender, sometimes shadowed piano melodies that are anchored by powerful drums and rumbling bass. To these elements, he deftly adds unique synth textures and accents that combine in expressive sonic layers which only intensify the emotion in each song.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
“The Afterlife” comes into existence with crackling radio static and broken, delicate synth notes underpinned by a full bass pulse. The bass becomes gigantic, higher synths dancing in a fragile flicker as bursting, broad percussion strikes and a breathy vocal exhalation moves in. Drums snap and strike as a twisting distortion flows and tense notes wander over the shadows below.
Mars Nord’s voice is shadowed, deep and aching as it carries a mysterious melody, effectively filling the entire song with more colossal weight. Metallic high notes twinkle and intertwine in a rapidly turning melodic line as whispering sounds rush past. Stygian bass rumbles and Mars Nord’s powerful, hurting vocals carry an elegiac melody supported by slabs of heavy synth and the song ends on his voice alone.
Our storyteller speaks about how he stays true to his cause even if “my means seem crude.” He adds that it’s “ill-advised” to improvise when one is “worlds apart, a child at heart.” He says that “as no surprise, I love goodbyes.” The narrator talks about running out of will with “no spirit left.” He says that he’ll see the other person “on the other side” as they call to him and that he has the “undying dream of moving on to the afterlife.”
Far off, raised notes ring out as Mars Nord’s filmy and deeply melancholic vocals carry over warm, pained piano chords to open “Nodus Tollens.” The vocal melody mingles yearning and wistful emotion. Mars Nord’s voice is trembling, deeply expressive and resonant as the piano chords shift along with a softly tapping snare drum. The piano drifts in a touching melody, daring to hope as drums lightly guide the music.
Mars Nord imbues the words with intense meaning, his voice deep with heartfelt emotion as the ticking drums guide the music on. Delicate piano carries the melody’s combined hurt and aspiration for something more as the vocals capture the emotion in the lyrics. Tiny, sparkling motes of light flicker in the background as the drums kick in again and Mars Nord’s vocals lift and fill with aching need as the drums skitter and pop. High chimes glisten and the song fades.
The narrator talks about how there was a “kiss gone stale, eyes hazed and pale” as he knew it was the other person’s time to go, explore and live their dreams. He remained behind in a “town that wants me gone.” He says that all of the days passed him “without notice” as they hoped and dreamed about the two of them “against the world.” Now our narrator wonders if that dream to which he held fast is still “out there for me.”
Our storyteller goes on to say that his dreams of falling in love, having children and growing old "into the night” have passed him by “without consent” as they seem to “laugh and abandon me.” He asks for help as he’s lost his faith and is alone “in the dark.”
He wants something to believe in now. The storyteller speaks of “picking up the unanswered calls of destiny” and says the he can’t remember if this is the first time he has or not. He asks, “Is it time, am I there? Is it time, are you there?”
Now the narrator speaks of being “marred by defeat” and talks about how his “providence” is moving away from him and “staring back” as it does. He concludes the song by saying “All I need is a destiny that I want to believe, it belongs to me.”
“Complimentary Colors” starts as broad, echoing notes and a dry, hollow, string-like sound are touched by light notes. Twitching, tapping sounds add texture as heavy bass flows and round-sounding, string-like notes intertwine. I enjoy the tenuous, tentative melody that grows in strength to become bright. The melody climbs upwards, feeling more positive as it grows. Soft percussion brushes and strings swell while solid bass glides. The string sounds lift the piano melody, ending on slightly choppy notes.
Smooth, distantly shifting piano chords are tinged with sadness as gruff, dark sounds move in the distance to begin “Unsung.” Mars Nord’s rich, deep voice growls with a shadowy, ominous touch as the piano’s gentle notes mirror it. The melody they carry is deeply mournful and tragic in a way that I find intensely moving.
The song's massive low end adds depth and Mars Nord’s vocals have a hint of anger in them, along with trembling feeling as bass grumbles. The piano is full of sadness and resignation as the vocals intertwine with it. Drums with a shaping power throb as noises skitter and twist in the background. The song ends on Mars Nord’s emotive voice.
Our storyteller talks about how he commits blasphemy to “put a dent in history” and ensure that “this blasted timeline” is killed off. He says that to an unknown them this is alchemy “at the edge of fantasy.” He goes on to say that we all "occupy their beloved odds” because we’re merely "lost profligates” to them, at least until we “descend to change the world.”
The narrator says he wants to say goodbye and leave “this mortal shell” to make a cut and let the thing trapped inside bleed out. He points out that he hates reality for “its boundless apathy” and wonders what “untold madness” compels one to see it all through.
The coda to “Unsung” commences as an airy rush is broken into by smoothly flowing piano that ripples out over softly hissing static sounds. The piano’s melody is shaded and tinged with caressing feelings as the insectile, static sound moves. I enjoy the way in which the piano cascades between more conflicted emotions and warmth while subtle strings accent it. The strings swell into richly resonating notes as the piano is full of dramatic darkness before silence falls.
Soft, natural sounds are touched by repeating, medium-high notes to bring “Darkling” to life. Mars Nord’s fragile voice is supported by lush piano notes echoing into open space. The melody is a tentative, shadow-bound thing with a rounded quality and Mars Nord’s vocals are thready and full of loss. Dark, thick bass fills the background as the piano flits out.
Extended chords lift underneath Mars Nord’s expressive vocals, doubled by the piano as clapping percussion and powerful bass sweeps below. A deeply melancholy feeling that radiates from the lyrics and is taken up by the vocals in a way to which I am drawn.
Rumbling, massive bass fills the track’s open spaces as the needy vocals add emotion. Distorted sounds and clattering noises shift as the low end weight vibrates along with slowly growing synth notes that glide over clattering percussion and piano. Majesty, pain and power commingle with shadows as the song comes to an end.
Our narrator begins by saying that he angrily asks the other person what they want from him, adding that he feels abandoned. He is desperate as he adds, “Don't tell me the light of youth is leaving me!” He believed that he’d just go on and on. The narrator talks about how he leans into the other person “yet you’re departing me.”
Now the storyteller says he’s “faithless” and at a loss of what is being asked of him. He concludes that “by all accounts this shouldn’t be happening” because he took good care of the other person but “in turn you gave nothing.”
“Mono No Aware” starts as deep, round sounding notes are joined by strumming strings and piano with to add substance to the sound. Glockenspiel sparkles and the piano carries a melodic pattern with a heartwarming quality that I find pleasing.
Finger snaps and percussion create a steadily shaping pulse while the piano cascades in evolving lines with an inherent feeling of peace, Violin spins out yearning energy underneath the glittering high notes. The piano tumbles down over a steady, elevated sound before all elements fade into silence.
Conclusion
Saturnine combines the considerable talents of Mars Nord and Kasson Crooker to create one of the most touching, emotionally powerful albums I have reviewed lately. This is music that aches and still dares to dream of something better, in spite of all of the loss and pain within it.
