Sad - Official Website


Misty Breath Of Ancient Forests

Greece Country of Origin: Greece

1. Clockwork
3. Apophenia
4. Desert
5. Solitude
6. Diagnosis
7. Ocean
8. Liberation
1. Self Hatred
2. Enjoy Your Pettiness
3. Misty Breath Of Ancient Forests (Part I)
4. White Death
5. Hellish Ride
6. Misty Breath Of Ancient Forests (Part II)
7. Hades Gazing


Review by Felix on June 22, 2025.

There are some albums that inspire me and most of them have a special feature. "Hell Awaits" documented the technical quantum leap of a band that was still fresh and groundbreaking at the time, "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" illustrated the uncanny vehemence of devilish-sacral singing. "Game Over" and "Speak English or Die" combined cynicism with irony and punky directness with metallic heaviness. But it doesn't always have to be a special menu for the ears every day. Sometimes, simple home cooking is enough. If it is, then served with the misty breath of ancient forests, it is also a feast for the palate.

Sad’s natural biotope is the underground where they know every cold dungeon, every musty cellar and every dusty junk room. Their full-length from 2020 mirrors this knowledge. Its sound creates a dense, autumnal and relatively dull atmosphere. Heavily influenced by old Darkthrone (a mixture of “Transilvanian Hunger” and “Ravishing Grimness”), the guitars make it easy to catapult yourself to Scandinavia while sitting actually in your comfortable armchair. The drums hammer in the background, not dominating the sound but playing their part, and the vocals add a generic yet properly insane and totally grim touch. It goes without saying that every form of natural, more or less friendly articulation is absolutely forbidden. Considering this, the vocals and the instrumental parts are a pretty cool match.

But these forests are not only ancient, they are also quite opaque. Seven songs with a length of more than 54 minutes in total do not always reveal the route and structure. The beginning of “White Death” and the final section of “Hellish Ride” show truly great melody lines (without being really melodic, that’s hopefully clear), but they are as well as the other songs not completely immune against less expressive parts. I do not say that the material lacks substance, definitely not. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the band did not have a close eye on compactness during the creative process for “Misty Breath of Ancient Forests”. Five or ten minutes less would have been more. On the other hand, there are no parts that make me think of pushing the skip button. This album is solid, steadfast and robust from the beginning to the end. It provides the essentials of the genre and that's okay.

The opener “Self Hatred” represents the album in a good way, because it consists of the typical Sad mix of thrilling parts and less exciting sections. Furthermore, it shows the unconventional arrangements of Sad which deliver one of the traits that form the album’s character. As there is of course no emergency exit. Or have any of you ever seen one in an ancient forest? Therefore Sad take you through landscapes that are aptly depicted on the cover for just under an hour. Don't be surprised if moss, soil and leaves stick to your shoes. Despite little weaknesses, due to the passionate and authentic performance of the Greek duo, “Misty Breath of Ancient Forests” is simply too good to get rid of it immediately.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

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