SATURNUS - Paradise Belongs to You (1996)

Review by: Alex Alex
Album assigned by: Syd Spence

Melodic death metal is Chinese food. Expectantly despised by the would-have-been-there French aristocracy, infinitely delayed at the virtual reality airports, chased by the steampunks for the non-compliance to The Outdated, it stays to satisfy the capitalistic black-hole-like greed. Manufactured as everything Made in China - impossible to have been manufactured if we didn’t dimly know the ‘true’ China history. But dimly only.

As long as there are two slices of bread, anything in between is welcomed to join the already created sandwich. There is no real criticism or, rather, it exists in the unimportant only. The dichotomy, known since none of us remembers when, serves as the cement – denying itself in the process – simplifying in the false way. Young creatures see the world in double, as if drunk from having consumed too much of what does not really belong to them, which is their own youth.

Hamburgers are made by the older for the younger. But not Vincent Price old, young enough to despise whatever the fillings are – the “true” seafood, the “greek” cheese, even simpler, the “village” chicken. That never denies the chicken so they are always present on farms, ready to be consumed. Or, without an object at all, “as if back in those years”. Sad, melodic. As if “back then, don’t remember when”. As if Paradise.

Then growl. Sweet and spicy. When we are in the opera we, unlike our grand grand grand grand grand grand not really that grand but grand grand fathers, never believe we are. But in dichotomy we do believe as in any telephone number. The solos are empty, the “contrast” is non-existent except for the contrast between 1 and 0. A melodic death metal ends immediately. It is not a premature ending. It is the things which do not immediately end, those thing end prematurely.

This album lasts long enough to be able to pretend that it says something about Paradise. It’s an outright lie. Paradise is an instant and that instant lies in the past. You are very lucky if you believe any Paradise stories. It means you are yet to see the Paradise itself.