Norwegian supergroup Sahg present to the world a conceptual album with a title based on the timeless curiosity of delusive disorders, that being Delusions of Grandeur. This fourth effort breaks the numerical titling of their previous releases, named I, II and III. The band released two singles off this album prior to the release, “Firechild” and “Slip off the Edge of the Universe”, which are by far the strongest tastes of what’s offered on this feast of otherworldly mental escapades.

This psychedelic downward adventure tells the tale of a man who slowly loses grasp of everything he has learned and experienced throughout his life and enters a vast imaginary state where he experiences increasingly severe (you guessed it) delusions of grandeur. The lyrics portray his path of helplessness slowly leading him away into bleak nothingness in a truly dark and depressing way, which is a beautiful contrast in conjunction with the upbeat and rather groovy jams the band plays around with.

Every time I listen through Delusions of Grandeur, I can’t help but think that OIav’s vocals remind me of a cross between Tim Roth’s (Into Eternity) early vocals and Ozzy Osbourne. His style suits the lyrics beyond perfectly, numbing hypnotics loaded into every syllable.

Delusions of Grandeur is packed with catchy riffs and choruses, but the two strong suits are definitely the aforementioned “Firechild” and “Slip off the Edge of the Universe”. The prior of the two is the fastest song of eight and features a quick and brilliant unravelling of wickedly addicting drum patterns with speedy and aggressive juggling riffs. The latter is a sincerely groovy masterpiece that paints the picture of inevitable mental defeat perfectly. Though you have probably heard similar songs a thousand times before, its farfetched, swaying guitar work and ‘wind in the reeds’ vibes are enough to make up for its often generic sound.

At times, particularly from track four onward, Delusions of Grandeur slips into a bit of a lull. If your into faster paced style of music and tend to bore at the sound of a turtle speed doom lullaby, then this may not be the album for you. There are tracks to make up for the sleepy stretch of songs, such as the instrumental track seven “Odium Delirium”. This song really caught me off guard the first time I heard it. In a way, it ‘wakes up’ the listener in preparation for the eleven minute finale. Featuring an absolutely brilliant hook, it quickly dives into a vocal-less ‘clean thrash’ style. All in all, a fun, An Endless Sporadic style song that I wish could go on for another ten minutes.

To conclude, Delusions of Grandeur is a sexy and solid release for any fans of the psychedelic stoner metal genre. Those who stray from said styles of music may not find a lot of interest here, though I still highly recommend checking out either of the singles, as I think they hold the power to gain your affection.


Delusions of Grandeur is out now and can be purchased here.