Envenom

Not a lot of things make sense about Sabbat's discography. The Japanese blacking metal legends present 9 albums at the time of the composition of this review, and it's unsure whether there is going to be another Sabbat release. However, it's really remarkable how a band with 9 releases could make every single release as solid as the other. Any other band I know of that has at least this many releases will have to have at least one or two weak releases. Not Sabbat though. Sure, we have our favorites and the ones that aren't doing as much, but objectively speaking, every Sabbat album slaps as hard as the other. Just in different ways. In 1991, this disc right here is what marked the beginning of all those wonderful evil rituals we love to take part in when listening to Sabbat's music, and it's one of the most memorable albums of the style.

The name of the game on this album is 1st wave black metal, and this album definitely established Sabbat's musical identity all the way up to the album called Karisma in 1999. But it's not only 1st wave black metal. It's more complex than that, as there are major, highly noticeable derivations from thrash metal, heavy metal, and speed metal. The songs feature a lot of complexity for this genre, and the fact that the band included this amount of lead guitar (which isn't always the case with 1st wave black metal) is a major plus point. Another factor that needs to be taken into consideration is the web of all the different types of vibes that encompass the album. It's obvious that the record is mainly all about that evil, ritualistic undertone we all know and love about 1st wave black metal, but Sabbat also included melody in large doses and a healthy amount of humor.

You'll fail to get songs like Evil Nations out of your head, because it's one of the catchiest Sabbat songs ever. The main riff is really primitive and simplistic, but God damn it, it STICKS! It's just effective. It also features an absolutely hilarious vocal section from about 3:01, which we'll never know what it's about, but I doubt you care when the presentation reeks of that much malice and darkness. Another major heavy-hitter from the record is Satan Bless You, which became a fan favorite since then, and its status is well-deserved. Very raw and unfiltered, spontaneous vocals on top of simple yet evil instrumentals that fluctuate between fast and slow paces. But the album is not all about animalistic, primal worship of evil, it actually demonstrates, (okay, only sometimes on this album) that Sabbat is to be taken seriously. King of Hell has everything you would want from a mature and professional band, most importantly that solo section that's the most coherent and intelligent one on the album. Not very technical, but all the more demonic and wicked.

Next to very well-written black metal, the greatest thing about this album is the production. It really sounds like you're in a very small room and the guys are playing this live. The drums are not excessively loud, but they're very punchy and raw. The guitar is heavily geared towards the right end of the speakers, and the bass is on the left, which has been done with the intention to make it sound like a real, live 3-piece concert. The band definitely succeeded. Gezol's vibrant, gruff bass is almost as loud as the guitars, but it's not a problem at all. Each and every instrument has roughly equal space. There is no Sabbat album with bad production. Not sure if this is because Sabbat always did it the way they wanted to and according to their own intentions and nobody else's, but it does seem to be the case.

Right off the bat, Sabbat released a cult classic. It does show that this is the band's first album because there is definitely more over-the-top ridiculousness when it comes to the vocals sometimes and the lyrics than in any of their other full-lengths. But this isn't a disadvantage. Since the band next to that, writes excellent material, it just adds to the charm and appeal of the trio. Besides, since these moments did not ruin the record, it can be considered a successful experiment. The band went on to release better albums than this later on, but as far as their pre-Dwelling era goes, this might be the best thing they came up with.

After starting as Evil since 1981, Japanese black/thrashers Sabbat quickly changed to this more-famous moniker and have made a name for themselves toiling in the underground with their ravenous first-wave style mixture of black metal and thrash. Taking their style to the very beginning of this wave as the album was originally released in March 1991 on the bands’-own Evil Records imprint, there has been various re-issues throughout the years including the latest one by Fallen-Angel Productions released June 3, 2016.

Being that this one goes for the first wave style of the genre, from the opening marks this one manages to really utilize the rather simplistic and charging nature of the band’s punk-laced roots by focusing on the simplistic riffing with a prominent punk attitude. The lack of the traditional black metal riffing style is given a much higher work here with the swirling thrash-style rhythm patterns that are much more prominent here alongside plenty of choppy drumming and stuttering patterns that really bring about a much more evident thrash influence here rumbling along while containing the same rabid riffing and darker atmospheres as the earliest practitioners of this style. Likewise, that also manages to infuse the album with a variance of styles and tempos throughout here, as there’s a healthy amount of ripping thrashers while also making enough room for a couple plodding doom-laced epics that slow the tempo down to more of a crawl, the bands’ trademark mid-tempo style charge complete with discordant riffing and even manages to thrown in a few enjoyably decent instrumentals that wind through a nice array of tempos as well which really completes the picture nicely. While all of these elements work rather well, the album does seem to stumble somewhat here with the amount of instrumentals present here as this one manages to fire off four different ones here that bookend the album in both cases, and it’s somewhat striking that it would chose to do so as it disrupts the momentum somewhat. Likewise, the album’s rawer sensibilities might be another challenge for those getting into this one as there’s not a whole lot of traditional elements here and it comes off with more of an earlier feel that might take some getting used to. Otherwise, this one was highly enjoyable and had quite a lot to really like.

Though it’s got some minor flaws that are barely worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things here since this one has quite a lot of worthwhile material, this one manages to start them off on a strong note here and manages to go for a wide amount of appeal for those into the rawer, first-wave black metal scene or fans of the bands’ career overall.

(Originally posted by me to the Metal Music Archives: http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/)

"Hey, Wilytank. If you liked The Dwelling so much, what is your opinion on Sabbat's other albums? You know, the ones that aren't The Dwelling?" That was a question asked by myself to myself. Granted, I do really like all of Sabbat's material, The Dwelling sticks out for being an hour long song. But let's go back in time. In the 80's, Sabbat released a few demos (EPs?) showcasing their thrashy, oriental black metal. When the 90's came around, the only original member left was Gezol. Sabbat would then acquire Zorugelion, Temis Osmond, and Elizaveat; all big names in the band's history. When 1991 rolled around, Sabbat finally unleashed their first official full length, Envenom, onto the world.

Envenom still reflects upon their 80's sound, but the songs here are all new (save for "Black Fire" appearing on some versions of this album). Another nice change is that they cleaned up their production a good bit, which is good since demos like Born By Evil Blood and Desecration had some really deplorable production. Otherwise, they still have a comfortable amount of grittiness to black up their sound. The bass is still fairly audible, a typically noteworthy detail in Sabbat's more well known demo era songs such as "Black Fire".

One thing that is absent from Envenom and I wish wasn't is a decent amount of cleaner vocals. Sabbat's clean vocal songs in their demos like "Black Fire" and "Mion's Hill" were really good. On Envenom, there's only Gezol singing clean on "Eviler" and Temis' higher pitched, semi-clean vocals over Gezol's growls on "Carcassvoice".

Musically, this album is very well crafted. There's super thrashy pieces like "Satan Bless You", "Eviler", and "Reek of Cremation"; punkier licks "Evil Nations" and "Carcassvoice"; the much slower "King of Hell"; and mid paced tunes "Devil Worship" and "Deathtemptation". "Deathtemptation" in particular gets my utmost praise. It's probably the best crafted song on this album. The lead guitar is very impressive; the song starts out with an awesome solo, and a double solo appears later after the second refrain. I also really like the oriental sounding guitar during the first parts of the refrains of the song.

Unfortunately, I cannot give Envenom a top tier score. For all its excellent moments, the album just doesn't as hard of a kick as some of Sabbat's later albums. "King of Hell" is actually skippable. I also really wish the harsh vocal production was better; I could barely hear it most of them most of the time. There's still lots of fun to have with this album though; and for those just getting into Sabbat, this isn't a bad entry point.

For an established band like Sabbat, it's unusual to see only three reviews on their MA page.

This is quality early black metal, more similar to the groovy/traditional Venom, Bathory, and Celtic Frost releases. Certain songs, like Satan Bless You and Reek of Cremation, are straight up neckbreakers that have nothing to do with the "cult" and "necro" aspects that are associated with the second wave and beyond. There are influences of a lot of different genres found here, from punk to plain old rock and roll, and it works.

The vocals here are nothing special, but effective-imagine a more raspy Cronos with some Sarcofago and even Macabre type styles mixed in(check out the middle of Sixth Candle).

Guitars-solid. There is some great soloing on this disc, especially on the faster speed songs like Sixth Candle and Carcassvoice.

Looking for some viking and doom influence? Check out King of Hell and Dead March, both sound a bit more like "typical" black metal than rock and roll, but are both great.

This is a really fun record, which is something you normally wouldn't be searching for in a black metal review. In this specific case though, it fits perfectly, and this disc makes for a good many spins.