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Sahg have dug up the decaying body of Ozzy era Black Sabbath, tweaked it a bit, and come out with a whole new beast. There's really not a whole lot to say about this release other than it is a very strong album throughout. The riffs blare with that seventies psyche, crunchy feel and the solos beat down with a hell of a lot of ferocity. All in all the band reminds me of a more Sabbathy Candlemass. Though the riffs are the crushing slow, brooding type that create that doom metal feel the solos are fast and rapt in technical prowess. They don't pack the strong vocal fronting that sets Candlemass apart from the rest of the doom metal community however. Instead they have someone who sounds very Ozzy, especially in tracks: The Executioner Undead and The Alchemist.

The first track, the opener, is pretty typical not a whole lot to say about it and to be honest I normally skip it, as is the case with most CD openers...

Then I hear some eastern guitar noodling followed by a series of crunchy psyche riffs all backed by a layered, echoey vocal performance that immediatly sets the tone of the album as a throw back to those great days in the early seventies when Sabbath and Pentagram reigned supreme. Repent is a good mood setter but it's the next song that truly sets up this album to be great.

The Executioner Undead combines the working of Sabbath with a very NWOBHM sound. It's crunchy and at the same time is played at mid pace and is all backed by a very good, entirely Ozzy vocal performance. Probably my favorite song on the album.

The Alchemist comes next and it's a good song, you know. After The Executioner though it's kind of forgettable.

After that you get Rivers are Running Dry. This sounds different somehow. The vocalist has dropped his vocal pitch lower and the song has dropped below that midpace down to a slow moving song. But that's not slow moving as in ballady the riffs are crushing and blasting while the lyrics are pretty well delivered.

Whisper of Abbadon is a mood setter. It's an acoustic instrumental that strikes up a strange contrast with the song that proceedes it.

Godless Faith is the single off of this album, I think, I know there's a music video for it. Anyway it's a good song all in all. My second favorite behind the Executioner. It starts off very slow and kind of soft with psychadelic riffs in and out and kind of jungle, tribal beat to the drums. Then the vocalist comes in with a low pitched, nearly baritone, drone voice. The main riffs kick in with a blare suddenly die out and are followed by a slow interlude before the chorus blasts through with the vocalist hitting his Ozzy pitch. Repeat, enjoy.

Soul Exile beats in next and ups the ante of the album back to the mid pace. Vocals are back to that Ozzy pitch which one better get used to because it's almost consistent through the rest of the album. I especially like the bass line in this song. It's noddling up and down in Blues rhythm and really adds dimension to this song.

Boundless Demise is another strong track but kind of forgetabble. The album begins to kind of wind down by this time. The chorus is punchy, and catchy the riffs are squeling with some nice psyche element. As I said good song this filler's good at least. There's one point in the song however that I noticed that the vocalist kind of rasps his vox in a much too gothic way. It's only a moment so it doesn't matter I suppose. (Hopefully he won't use it for future releases or anything).

Black Passage begins with vocals that are so Ozzy that I had to check out that they didn't bring the Ozman in for cameo. But nope, it's all the vocalists own. This is good end for the album. It on the upbeat has an adrenaline pumping kick to it. The vocalist uses numerous hooks not typical of Doom metal but enjoyable none the less. The chorus is an interesting contrast to the rest of the song because it actually slows down, instead of speeding up like a typical chorus does. The percussion on this song is very tribal and eastern. It gives a good feel to the song. At around the three minute mark the guitarist begins to pick his guitar in a way that really invokes a certain mood for the whole album. It closes the seal, so to speak, with a droning slow solo that envokes the apocalyptic tones of the lyrics. Good song, probably my third favorite on the album.

Much like Jotunspor, I managed to find Sahg while searching for bands in which the members of Gorgoroth participate or have participated. Unlike Jotunspor, however, this album has no obvious Gorgoroth influences. This could be due, in part, to the fact that it’s not even the same genre, but who’s paying attention? I consider myself very lucky to have found this album. Anyway, let’s begin.
Intro: Parade Macabre - A nice intro, but typical because many albums begin with some sort of introductory element. It has a Middle Eastern feel to it. An average, but interesting intro. 7/10
Repent - This song is quite slow, but the riffs are very heavy and full, but also melodic and flow very well. The vocals are all clean, and were very much distorted (this is the case for large portion of the album) and remind me of Ozzy Osbourne. The Middle Eastern feel continues into this track. In the last minute and a half, a wonderful solo begins, then goes into a final refrain. The drums are simple for the more quiet times in this song, mainly keeping the beat. During the heavier moments, they do little more, but fit the music perfectly. 8,5/10
The Executioner Undead - This is the second best song on this album, IMO. It’s much faster to begin than the previous track. I don’t care much for the very first riffs, I don’t know what it is. Just something about them. But when the song gets going, I’m fine with it, even though it’s the same exact riff.. I don’t know. But, they’re catchy and heavy throughout this song, and that is helped out very much by the bass, which is prominent in this song. The vocals are natural, and really quite good. Makes me want to sing, except.. I don’t know the words. The drums are average, with not a lot of variation. 9,5
The Alchemist - This song starts out heavy and fast, but slows down a lot almost immediately. The guitars are thick and have a nice groove to them. They stop, and the bass is displayed for all to experience. It sounds good in my opinion, but then again, I don’t play bass, so it’s hard for me to judge accurately. Also, the guitar solo toward the middle end is decent. The vocals are distorted some more (his voice has a sort of wavy quality to it). The drumming varies some on this track, but not much. It’s still a good track, though. 8/10
Rivers Running Dry - Almost sounds exactly like “The Executioner Undead”, just at a slower tempo, and a lower pitch. The lyrics that I can catch though, are very interesting, but don’t make up for the similarity. The solo in the later half of the song isn’t anything to write home about. The bass guitar is prominent in this one toward the end as well. I thought it acted more as a third guitar myself, but again, I’m not a good judge of bass performance. 7/10
Whisper of Abaddon - A nice break from the action. Very slow and quiet, even soothing. It’s very short though, which is unfortunate. The way they went with it, I would like to have heard more. The acoustic melody was accompanied by what sounds like some violins to end the track nicely. 8,5/10
Godless Faith - (A video was made for this song, which you can see at their Myspace page) It begins with powerful riffs. They cease during the verses and come right back full-force during the chorus. I like the drumming in this track. It’s got very much a “I’m coming to get you…Watch out!”-type feel to it. The vocals are particularly powerful in this one. Nothing special about the drumming on this one either. The lyrics for this song seem like they’d be the typical black metal style when he first starts singing, but they’re really quite good. 9/10
Soul Exile - The best song on the album IMO. It’s more of a rock-based song than the others. It’s a lot faster than some of the other songs. The riffs are very catchy but heavy. The bass is featured again, and even I can say that it’s interesting and done well. The vocals are excellent. Another one of those that just makes me want to sing in praise of Ozzy. The drumming is good too. 10/10
Boundless Demise - To start this one, they give the drums and bass a go, and it sounds quite nice. Then break into some good and heavy riffs. The riffs are complex and flow very well. Pretty catchy too. The vocals are very good in this song. There’s an excellent solo in the last minute and a half that actually made me say “Wow”. The drummer gets some chances in this song to show some ability that weren’t given in previous songs. Very good. 9/10
Black Passage - The last track on this album. Starts kind of slow, but picks up quickly. The guitar riffs continue to be catchy and quick. Nothing wrong with that though. The vocals are good; the guy’s got a good range. Trust me, he uses it. The acoustic guitar (I thought) wasn’t necessary during the solo. It kind of took away from the solo itself, taking attention away. The song fades out and the end has come all too soon. Or does it? With about 30 seconds left, a short acoustic bit starts, but ends very quickly. Not exactly the most wisely used time, but oh well. 8/10
I think that this album is one of those that would be better classified as Stoner Metal, because it’s an album that can be enjoyed very much by an intoxicated person. But that aside, I rather enjoyed this album. It’s interesting, catchy, heavy, and melodic at the same time. I think any fan of Doom Metal should own this one.
Standout tracks: Repent, The Executioner Undead, Godless Faith, Soul Exile, Boundless Demise