Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Hit 'em with the brain destroyer.

I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life. This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule.

Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of respite through a rare break or acoustic segment, the bulk of the guitarwork here is relentlessly dizzying. There’s a surplus of high-energy melodic leads, as seen on the scorching title track, as well as the closing “Call of the Void”, which features some head-spinning duelling solos that become nearly ethereal by the end. Jonas has a keen sense of composition when it comes to guitar leads, and his ability to put together technical pieces that don’t just become a faceless blur of notes is genuinely quite impressive.

That’s not to say that the whole thing is just an excuse to shred through some guitar exercises, far from it. Despite the brevity of the tunes found here, they’re all jam-packed with riffs, sometimes to their own detriment. “Manipulating Destiny” is a beast that slowly unfolds over its four-and-a-half-minute runtime, and it serves as a microcosm of Redefining Life as a whole. From its gradual escalation from the intro to its neck-snapping and roaring riffage, it has it all, making for what might just be the best tune here. Hell, it even has some catchy vocal lines, with Jonas  channelling Chuck Schuldiner during Death’s middle period, each line being belted out with a venomous rasp that is quite workmanlike in nature, not really making a positive or negative impression upon the listener. 

What really helps this particular song stick the landing though is its length, something that is actually one of this release’s biggest failings. For how dense and mind-bending a lot of the playing here is, it doesn’t quite lodge itself in your skull due to its erratic nature. Rhythms change at the drop of the hat, ideas appear and disappear before you’ve even managed to process them, everything happens as fast as one would expect upon seeing the runtime and the genre tags. For example, there’s this acoustic segment near the end “Call of the Void” that comes out of nowhere, and it feels like its only purpose is to lead into the climax of the song, without much thought as to how it’d fit with what came before. It’s an approach that undoubtedly has its place in this niche, but it also means that it’s a bit short on memorability, and works better as a burst of manic energy rather than something that’s loaded with hooks that’ll stay with you in the long term.

There’s also the matter of production, which in fairness, was handled exclusively by Doehler, and as a result I’m going to hold it against the music, though it could’ve been better. The guitars for one, while well-defined and perfect for the pyrotechnics therein, lack heft when it comes to the riffier moments, whereas the bass is by and large content with following the guitars, with the exception of the intro in “An Unorthodox Truth”. As for the drums, they’re programmed, meaning they’re little more than a glorified metronome for the strings to be played over. In short, anything that isn’t a six-string is a bit of an afterthought, and if you’re looking for a technical experience where every instrument is pushed to its limits, you’re bound to be disappointed a little.

That being said, Sacred Serenity has the sauce, and the craft that Jonas managed to put in Redefining Life is nothing short of astounding. Obviously, there are the limitations that come with being a one-man band, whether it’s in the sound or the music, but the effort and talent is still very much visible, and it’s at the cusp of greatness. I’m not one to ask for much, but I’d love to see a sophomore where the songwriting is given more room to breathe, as well as the addition of a drummer and a bassist who are able to rise up to the challenge posed by our mastermind. The hunger mentioned at the start of this review is nothing short of ravenous, and it’d be a tragedy if this project was abandoned after a debut, that’s for sure. 

Highlights: An Unorthodox Truth, Manipulating Destiny

Rating: 80%