SATURN is a Progressive Rock/Metal band from Sweden.  "Ascending" is their first full-length album, and contains eight tracks.  They describe themselves as a young band, with a sound of the past, present, and future, colliding in a shower of riffs, melodies and other worldly magic.  The jovial opening riff of "So, You Have Chosen Death" has a very classic Metal sound to it, as if it were from the NWOBHM era.  The passages in the verses where we just hear vocals remind me of LED ZEPPELIN or SAXON.   At the same time though, there is a forward thinking element mixed in.  "Rokktori" opens with a slide guitar, and a long building until the main riff asserts itself.  This is old school, head bobbing Heavy Metal.  Indeed, I picked up my pen and drummed along to this one.  It's simple, but catchy, and a very memorable riff.  "Over The Influence" is a broody number, slow and cautious, like something from and older THE DOORS era album.  The solo is loud, aggressive and sexy.  This song has a lot of swing.  Rounding out the first half of the album is "Leadersheep."  The track moves back and forth fluidly between two separate meters, mostly a galloping exercise in the three basic blues notes.

"Peasant" is a little more of a burner, and sees Oscar stretching out his chords some more.  I like the solo section, where the guitars play off each other while the bass keeps the rhythm moving along heartily.  "Tower of Terror" turns to the psychedelic somewhat, with a tepid but soulful display.  It creeps along, crawling on your senses in a neo-bluesy sort of way, until the second chorus, where additional instrumentation accentuates the point.  "Last Man In Space" has a funky little opening, a more assertive main melody, and an overall more grandiose sound to it.  The pace and rhythm change several times during the song, yet it runs together nicely.  This might be my favorite track on the album.  Closing is the song "Moonstone." The upbeat, twang of acoustic guitars and soft, emotional vocals make for a very pleasing end to the album.  If I am not mistaken, some pipe notes can be heard in the mix of this delicate beauty.  This is a very, very, memorable song.   There is a renewed movement returning Hard Rock and Heavy Metal to its early roots.  I think SATURN fits in nicely with this retro type of sound.  They have their own unique twist, which is hard to finger for sure.  If you have a hankering for some unassuming and soulful old-school Hard Rock/Metal, I think you will be pleased here.