SAKNA’s Previously Unreleased Album Gets Limited Cassette Reissue

"De Syv Dødssynder", the only studio album by SAKNA, the Canadian one-man atmospheric black metal project founded by the late Solemn, has been released on cassette in a limited edition by Hypaethral Records. The release marks the label’s first anniversary and is limited to just 100 copies.

Solemn began writing and recording the album in 2006, at the age of just 14. By the time he was 18, he had recorded all of its vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, organs, and drums himself. Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s "The Divine Comedy", "De Syv Dødssynder" (The Seven Deadly Sins) is not merely a black metal album but also the young musician’s attempt to translate a literary work into music.

In 2009, Solemn shared an early recording of ‘Del I – Helvete’, one of the album’s opening sections, on YouTube, bringing SAKNA to the attention of the black metal underground. However, the musician’s death in 2011 brought the project’s development to an abrupt halt.

The recordings remained hidden on old hard drives for years until Solemn’s brother, S., brought them to light. Several years were then spent recovering the music and completing the mixing and remastering process. S., a member of Lunedi, handled the mixing, while Greg Dawson, whose previous work includes Thantifaxath and Panzerfaust, took care of the mastering at BWC Studios. This finally made it possible for Solemn’s sole full-length album, complete with bonus tracks, to receive its first physical release.

Musically, the album draws on influences ranging from Windir, Emperor, Mournful Congregation, Wolves In The Throne Room, and Cor Scorpii, bringing together elements of epic Sognametal, atmospheric black metal, DSBM, funeral doom, neo-folk, and dark ambient. The project’s sound has been described as a meeting point between Windir’s melodic, epic character and the more introspective expression of atmospheric black metal.

The cassette edition of "De Syv Dødssynder" is limited to 100 copies. The full album can be streamed here, while the cassette is available through the Hypaethral Records online store and Bandcamp.