Sakna, a one-man band shrouded in mystery since its inception in 2006, is a bastion of the post-Second Wave of Black Metal ethos – championing a period where the musicality of Black Metal overtook the antics of its forefathers. Conceived by the late Canadian multi-instrumentalist Solemn, the project espouses a sound that has been dubbed “a natural extension of Windir”; a seamless fusion of epic Sognametal with emotive Atmospheric Black Metal, DSBM, Funeral Doom, Neo-Folk, and Dark Ambient.

After nearly two decades in relative obscurity, Solemn’s brother S. (of post-Metal band Lunedi) has lifted the curtain on his sibling’s genius, unveiling a plethora of songs that lay hidden from the world on old hard-drives for years. With several more years dedicated to the recovery, meticulous mixing and remastering of the music by Greg Dawson at BWC Studios (Thantifaxath, Panzerfaust), “De Syv Dødssynder” – Sakna’s masterpiece and sole full-length album – is finally getting a physical release in 2025 via Canada’s eminent extreme metal label, Hypaethral Records.

Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy”, Solemn began writing and recording De Syv Dødssynder as its musical adaptation in 2006 at the young age of 14 years old. By the age of 18, he had recorded all of the album’s vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, organ and drums himself, even leaking an early preview of the single Del I - Helvete to YouTube in 2009 (which earned Sakna underground notoriety in Black Metal circles). His magnum opus drew on such varied influences as Windir, Mournful Congregation, Emperor, Wolves in the Throne Room, Cor Scorpii and more.

With such a promising musical career ahead of him, Solemn tragically took his own life in 2011, halting the hopes of his brilliance reaching the masses. De Syv Dødssynder and its bonus tracks remain his legacy. Like a time capsule, they offer a glimpse into one of the most artistically intricate forgotten gems of Black Metal’s infamous history.