Album Review: Dark Sarah - Grim

You would think that a band labeled as 'cinematic metal' would be doing something so epic and grand that it had no choice but to be memorable. Whether for good or bad, something about that kind of music has to make an impression, right? Well, the answer to that is no, it doesn't, and Dark Sarah is living proof of that. I covered their previous album, and in the time since I did so, I have forgotten everything about it. Despite reaching for the stars, they still came up short. So when this new album was sent to me, my first thought was in regards to whether or not I remembered enough of the last experience to justify spending the time covering this one. In the end, I decided to give them another shot, even though I can't tell you I came to that conclusion logically.

The idea of Dark Sarah is to juxtapose the heaviness of modern metal with an ethereal, classical voice. They do that, but they don't do enough to make the dichotomy really 'pop'. The music is heavy, but it doesn't go far enough to be the darkness to Heidi's light. They need to push both sides to the extreme to make it work, because Heidi's melodies on their own aren't strong enough to raise the songs. When the band sounds like every other metal band, they need better songwriting to stand out. Which gets me to the biggest complaint...

For being 'cinematic', this album doesn't feel any different from so many other melodic metal albums. The added instrumentation is restrained, and often so far in the background its disappearance would make no difference to the final result. They don't give any of the big themes or melodies to the parts that are supposed to be cinematic, which makes those elements feel tacked on for the sake of being artistic. They rarely sound integral to the construction of the songs.

The hardest part of being a musician is songwriting. There are countless people you can find on any social media platform whose skill singing or playing an instrument would put most of the greats to shame. What you won't find are many who can write powerful songs that move people, or get stuck in their heads. It's a talent that is rare, and I'm not entirely sure can be learned. So it should come as no surprise that if we look at a cross-section of a hundred or more bands, most of them are going to struggle with writing great songs. That is Dark Sarah's struggle as well.

Nothing on "Grim" is outright bad, and there are moments that are enjoyable to listen to, but there isn't anything that grabbed my attention. There were no big riffs or sticky melodies to hold onto. Everything was pretty, but in the kind of way that is a slick veneer that slips through your fingers when you try to close your fist around it. Like a lot of bands, Dark Sarah has talent, but needs sharper songs.

That's the same feeling I had with their previous album, and unless something changes, probably the same feeling I'll have with their next one too.