Sabbat / Gruesome – Sabbat / Gruesome [Split]

To add extra lustre to last summer’s European tour, a split 7” EP between Sabbat and Gruesome was released by Doomentia Records. The touring together of cult band Sabbath incarnate and Gruesome, made up of the remnants of Death’s musical legacy, was a somewhat odd combination on paper, and it appears to translate musically to this split EP as well. Still, the inveterate Sabbat collector won’t give a damn about that and Gruesome fans will likewise disregard it. The upside of a somewhat oddly chosen combination is that possibly both bands will introduce their own following to the other half of this EP.

But, honestly, you have to be a real Sabbat fan to actually enjoy this “Japan Version, Rough Mix” of ‘Sabbaticult, the opening track of the album of the same name that appeared earlier this year. The album’s version is a great song and embraces everything that Sabbat stood for in the last decade or so, but this version is really a pain in the ass. It is not so much the song itself, which is not so different from the original album version, but it is the totally and utterly pathetic vocals that prevents it to even be remotely enjoyable. The Japanese’s Thrashy Black Metal may be of titanic allure, but, and I am saying this as a long-term Sabbat fan: I really wonder if anyone is really going to be happy with this particular version – or at least dare to be honest about it.

Fortunately, there is still Gruesome to save this split 7” EP from being a total waste. The Americans, who usually tend to lurk more in the ‘Leprosy’ and ‘Individual Thought Patterns’-era of Death now take a deep dive in the history of Death with a cover version of ‘Legion Of Doom’, originally appearing on the legendary ‘Death By Metal’-demo of Mantas (pre-Death). While the original of course has its charm and undeniably had a very important role in the development of the Death Metal genre, Gruesome shows how the song would have sounded if Death had recorded it in 1988 instead of 1984. Which shows once again how quick Chuck Schuldiner was in developing his sense of catchy song writing and overall musicianship. The heaviness of the recording and the genuine dedication Gruesome exudes make this cover version a true homage to Death and Schuldiner, even more so than the majority of Gruesome’s own material. It might be clear by now, this track alone could be worth getting this split EP for.

That is, if you didn’t have a chance to pick it up before, as this track was released earlier in 2018 as part of the “Decibel Flexi Series”. While it should go without saying that a regular piece of vinyl sounds a lot better than a flexi disc, a feeling remains that this EP, with two not really exclusive songs, was put together a bit hastily to have some extra merchandise on the tour. Well, the choice is yours.