Sabbatrinity

This was the record that introduced me to the very unconventional, very unique and captivating world of the Japanese diehard samurai blacking metal legends, Sabbat. When I first heard it, I immediately thought "This sounds like it's from '86-'87", but to my astonishment, it was from 2011. I had to listen to it entirely, and what I heard was damn near the best thing I heard in years. Join me as we explore the world of the Japanese blacking witching sabbatical unholy metal warriors' 9th studio album, "Sabbatrinity".

This album utilizes the most of speed and thrash metal out of any Sabbat albums ever. The band's black metal roots are definitely present still, but they are nowhere near as dominant as they are on "Karmagmassacre" or "Fetishism", just to name a few examples. Because of that, this album seems to be the most accessible one for thrashers like me, who prefer the high pace and the traditional song structures, and the fact that this album is seasoned with the one and only Sabbat's magical evil approach is just the cherry on the top of the cake.

Now that we have the style out of the way, let's talk about the music itself. This is just utter magnificence that's going on here. This is one of those bands that sounds like no other band in the entire universe. What makes this record so amazing is the incredible darkness, the evilness, the malice that these songs are reeking of. "Black Metal Scythe", "Witch Hammers", "Karmagmassacre" and "Witchflight" are all songs that are catchy as hell, they are not super difficult to play, but guess what, who cares? They are vicious, unbelievably effective at achieving the evil vibe the band's going for, they are well-written, original, unique, who gives a shit if this ain't Coroner or Aspid? They are all part of the same story, the same agenda, they fit together perfectly well, and they are more evil and rotten to the core than literally anything that came out before 2011, in 2011 and after. This album's cover should be next to the world "evil" in dictionaries.

Damiazell on guitars does an excellent job at writing songs that split the workload between tremolo picking massacre and those sweet, amazingly tasteful malicious chord progressions. The riffs are fairly aggressive, but they are not just that, they are not all hate and anger. There is a very fine obsession and admiration of hell and Satan that radiates from these riffs. His solos are very unique, because they are absolutely 100% coherent and intelligent, and they tell a story from beginning to end. This isn't the whammy-obsessed craziness like on a Slayer album (there's a time and place for that, too). It's a pleasant surprise, and it makes sense to carry on the tradition of Sabbat's solos, which have always been very brainy and sophisticated. On the other hand, Gezol's deliverance isn't to be forgotten either, who sounds more like a thrash vocalist here, reminiscing a less aggressive Schmier from '84. His bass playing is actually more outstanding than the vocals themselves, and thank God for the sabbatical production, it is unbelievably present from beginning to end. Finally, the percussion by Zorugelion is also worthy of praise, as he is very good at matching the drumming to what these songs need. It would not make sense to fill these songs with unnecessary fills, this is is not a Dark Angel album or something similar. This is a very archaic, very sophisticated black thrash album that's very well controlled and calculated, so the lack of fills is conscious and correct in this case.

What an insanely evil and amazingly dark creation this album is. There was absolutely no music like this back when this came out, and there isn't any right now either. This band is not doing it for fame, they are not doing it to make a shit ton of money, not even to make a little bit of money. They're playing like how they believe a band should be playing, and whoever likes it REALLY likes it, and whoever doesn't, they can fuck off and listen to a bunch of trendy bands. That's what this record speaks of as well, with this raw, crude production, the songs that follow absolutely no trends that were around in 2011, and this is how they ended up going above and beyond everyone in the field. By being absolutely themselves. Satan Bless Sabbat!

This was the first Sabbat album I was lucky to get my grubby little hands on and I thank the gods of metal every-time I listen to it. Sabbat are a Japanese band that began in 1983 under the name of Evil mostly covering NWoBHM bands, but was changed to Sabbat in 1984 when Gezol took on vocal duties and the band’s aim was more along the lines of Venom. Since then the band has had a whole plethora of releases that showcase a wide showcase of genres such as black, thrash, speed, and even avant-garde. I am not here to talk about those releases however, I am here to talk to you about their most recent LP, Sabbatrinty which focuses more on a blackened speed/thrash metal sound.

I have a strong fondness of Gezol’s vocal style. Whilst some may complain the broken engrish to get in the way of understanding the vocals, I say nay, after listening to the album a few times it is quite easy to penetrate the language difference and in fact it delivers a very entertaining sing-along. Even while typing this now I find myself chanting “Evil force, A bloody star of the red, The sign of dictator, root of ultimate evil!”which leads me to Gezol’s lyrics. Again with the language barrier it may not seem to be the most well written, but it is made up with honest and sheer brutal lyrics.

“Avengers riding on the storm, blessed by the dark lord
Mission from hell, command from hell, total destruction
Destroy ‘em all, the domain of gods, total destruction
Pleasure to kill, pleasure to ruin, extermination!"

Damiazell is a down right guitar demon! Every song is littered with riffs that make you air guitar whether you like it or not and has easily caused much a bewildered look from passers-by on the street. It seems to be the perfect combination of murky, raw speed metal riffs harking back to the days of Bulldozer and Venom, as well as the complex and intricate thrash metal shreds put through a black metal filter. All in all it creates a powerful and catchy experience that has clearly been produced by the mind of a guitar genius, who instead of focusing on meaningless virtuosity tries to compose something worth listening to. The drums on the other hand are a bit so-so, I’m sure that without them the album would fall flatter than a suicide jumper but I feel that they are out-shined by the aforementioned vocal and guitar duties. At the end of the day I can’t complain, they keep the album together and do little to really to sully this album.


Sabbatrinity is one of my all-time favorite albums, combining the best parts of black, thrash and speed metal into an excellent Japanese package. Speaking of which I am a sucker for plain colour background albums with a demon on the front, they just reek of 80′s Satanism and whiskey guzzling. I would recommend to anyone who calls themselves a true Heavy metal Hunter, for people who eat, breathe and live heavy fuckin’ metal!


Top Tracks: Root of Ultimate Evil, Witch Hammers, Karmagmassacre.
http://occultobserver.wordpress.com/

Very few modern metal albums sound like the work of actual living musicians, so pristine, clinical and squeaky clean are their production values. A computer maybe, or possibly some Terminator-style cyborgs sent back through time to ruin heavy metal with overly triggered drums, note-perfect guitar leads and too much compression, but not flesh and blood human beings. I’m not trying to put forth some kind of wacked-out conspiracy theory here, but it really does seem like there is a sinister force at work, actively trying to stamp out the violent, filthy and chaotic tendencies that make great metal. We’re on a Pro Tools-fuelled train, headed in a perfectly straight line to mediocre metal Hell.

Fortunately Japan’s Sabbat exists. They’ve been kicking against the pricks since 1984, and are working harder than ever to blow the aforementioned Pro Tools Express to bits with Sabbatrinity, their ninth full length album and (approximately) five billionth release overall. In spite (or perhaps because) of their lengthy existence and monolithic discography, the band still sounds as nasty and gnarly in 2011 as it did almost thirty years ago.

This is because Sabbatrinity sounds like the work of real musicians. It sounds like three sweaty, hairy dudes playing in a room together, one of whom may or may not be decked out in nothing but metal-studded black leather underoos, a bass guitar and a smile (see live photos of bassist/vocalist/mastermind Gezol). It sounds like true metal diehards, men who worship at the altar of the almighty goddamn motherfucking riff, laying down their souls to the gods rock ‘n’ roll. The results are electric, a clattering, booming barrage of metal at its most pure. No other album I’ve heard this year, save perhaps Yob’s Atma, sounds this organic and awesome.

For those unfamiliar with Sabbat (or only familiar with the lame British group of the same name), the band plays a throughly raw brand of blackened thrash metal with touches of traditional heavy metal, similar in many respects to early Venom. The music is as blunt and simple as can be, but it reeks of dedication, craftsmanship and authenticity, the kind of stuff that instantly incites headbanging, fist raising, denim wearing and alcohol swilling. Sabbat gets everything right that the legions of retro-metal and thrash wannabes get so disastrously wrong, begging the question: “why the fuck would you listen to retro junk like Warbringer and Evile when Sabbat put a new album out in the same year?!”

The best thing about Sabbat though is the way they plow through their songs with total abandon. Like Motorhead and the aforementioned Venom before them, there is absolutely no thought given to finesse or technical wizardry, it’s all about slaughtering instruments and abusing eardrums in service of the song. Great songs like “Black Metal Scythe” and “Witchflight” that lodge themselves in your head with their dirty mid-range riffage and over-the-top vocals. One of classic thrash’s best qualities is that it stole the exhilarating, reckless spirit of hardcore punk (which was later reincarnated in black metal) and kicked it into overdrive, and that spirit is present in abundance throughout Sabbatrinity. In my recent review of Vader’s excellent Welcome to the Morbid Reich, I noted that bandleader Piotr Wiwczarek seems to have lost none of his youthful exuberance for metal, and the same is clearly true of Gezol. There is something very special about these rare metal lifers who’ve been touched by the “Lemmy Syndrome” and Gezol clearly belongs to that elite group (at almost thirty-two years old, I’m starting to hope just a little of their undying vigor rubs off on me through extensive listening).

Completely devoid of anything approaching pretension or bullshit, Sabbatrinity is a sonic oasis in a scene that’s become rife with both. Serving as undeniable proof that millions of notes and 21st century studio bells and whistles don’t mean shit when you’ve got heart, soul, songs and some fucking attitude, the album is a fist in the face of modern metal conventions. If there really was a conspiracy to kill metal via neutered production techniques and nonsensical instrumental wank (I’m starting to believe it more and more), Sabbat would be leading the legions of the loyal and true into battle against the heavy metal Terminators with a blood-curdling scream of “Death to False Metal!”

Originally written for http://thatshowkidsdie.com

It's hard to believe that Japan's Sabbat have not put out a new, original full-length album in eight years, but instead they've kept themselves busy with dozens of live efforts, splits and EPs through obscure imprints; most of which seem to instantly become collector's relics by means of their scarcity. However, seeing that they're one of the best metal bands in the world, I feel that Gezol and crew deserve our patience. As they prove with Sabbatrinity, it really pays off for us in the end, because this is yet another rush of truly senile black, thrash, speed and traditional heavy metal aesthetics with more charisma than any ten other hand-picked nostalgia addict bands.

The production here is perfect for the band's intentions, but it is by no means modern, so expect the same repressed live feeling you've felt with their past albums. Delicious, delirious, well written proto-black evil is rampant in riff-fests like "Black Metal Scythe" and "Total Destruction", the interaction between Gezol's distorted bass lines and the leads of Damiazell prove that the band can easily survive the loss of long time guitarist Temis Osmond. Sabbat truly strips everything down the basics, writing songs that sounds as if they've escaped straight out of the 80s and early 90s, rather than 'trying to sound' that way. "Witchflight", "Witch Hammers", and "Ravens Tell" are all great fun, but I felt that the truly standout tracks were "Northern Satanism" with its bristling, infernal energies and grave-borne, ghast-spun vocals; and "Root of Ultimate Evil" with its choppy thrashing and mix of Gezo's ghoulish and higher pitched presence. "Witch's Torches" is another exciter, with a thick, workmanlike rhythm section that drags you straight back to Slayer's Hell Awaits or Show No Mercy, with an added trace of Venom. The album's closer, an instrumental called "Witch's Weed", is breathtaking, as its guitar leads rip along over the ominous pipe organs, evoking the campy occult horror that the band is so endeared and loyal to.

Sabbatrinity sounds old. Old and dark. Like a friend that has been away on a long voyage, come back from the mist of obfuscation to once again share a fire and a few tales with you. Blessed (or cursed) by the authenticity that so few bands can muster when they've run out of ideas and simply photocopy the muse of those past. And that's because they are old, going on 27 years of existence without once changing their direction to suit the flashy trends that have come and gone. If you're into any of this legends' past material, or really any of the early wave of black metal influences (Venom, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, Bulldozer, Piledriver, etc.) then you already know what to expect. This is the real deal, so spill your purses. throw your goddamn horns and elbow the nearest poseur as hard as possible. It's not necessarily perfect, but then, neither are you.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com