Subway To Sally
Post Mortem
Napalm Records
Rumour had it that German folk metal giants Subway To Sally were going to call time on their near 35-year career, but it transpires you can’t keep a good band down and they return from their near death experience with studio album number 15, Post Mortem. After a suitably unsettling introduction, Subway To Sally put to rest any ideas of retirement and rise majestically from the ashes with ‘Phoenix’. Due to their singing in German parallels will always be drawn with Rammstein, yet Subway To Sally are far greater in scope. Take the title-track, for example, like many of their songs it operates on two levels; those folky flourishes bubble beneath the surface resonating with the listener on a deep, primordial level, whilst the metal overtones take a more direct route and land a succession of heavy blows. It’s a duality that runs throughout the album; the push and pull between past and present, and the visceral and cerebral that makes this album an infinitely interesting listen and one that’ll reward repeat plays. As such, Post Mortem finds Subway To Sally very much alive and kicking.
Review by Peter Dennis.