Band: STYGIAN FAIR
Country: Sweden
Title: Nadir
Label: Independent
Year: 2019
Style: Hard'n'Heavy

Review:
It's a shame bands like these decide to release their material exclusively digital nowadays; of course, reasons can be multiple and diverse, but just the thought of such good material to remain on the net only is a shame. Anyway, this second full-length album by Umea based quartet Stygian Fair treats the listener with 9 tracks in a bit over 40 minutes of playing time where classic Hard Rock meets stripped-down Heavy Metal and even Progressive Rock and the result is interesting and hard to get into at the same time, one needs to be quite a seasoned listener of the abovementioned genres to fully enjoy the experience. To be honest I very much like the compositions but I just can't understand the dry, '70's like production, crystal-clear obviously but dry and not bombastic at all (or I'm just not used to this type of sound at all). It seems like the producer left the tracks to do it all themselves if I can say so, like: "ok, you're good sounding, I'll just have you as clear as possible and that's it, hit the soft spot". The vocalist has a very good, warm tone and he's also not shy of experimenting and going places one wouldn't expect, and that's another strong point of this band but a point that prevents their music being easily accessible, too. Definitely an album that needs a full spin before making one's mind, so give it a chance.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
stygianfair.bandcamp.com