Info
- Band(s): Sabbat
- Label(s): Evil Dead Production, Evil Horn Records, Iron Pegasus Records, Nuclear War Now! Productions, Old Library Records, Skol Records
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, Cassette, CD
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: September 20, 2024
- Author(s): FelixS
As one of the stalwarts of the First Wave of Black Metal, Japan’s Sabbat have been winning over huge numbers of listeners for four decades now, not only because of the never-ending energy that oozes from their music, but certainly also because of the way the band approaches their music. With a purity that is basically unparalleled, the Japanese have been performing their music for forty years, which comes together in a discography that has now reached mythical proportions. Although a countless number of shortplayers have been released in between, here now, thirteen years after ‘Sabbatrinity’, is Sabbat’s new full-length album…
Right from the very start of the album, with the album’s title track, it is clear that ‘Sabbaticult’ continues on the path chosen with its predecessor: a nice and wild sort of Black/Thrash Metal that is heavily laced with 80’s Heavy Metal. Even pushing the Heavy Metal part a bit further, equipping themselves with lots of catchy riffs, falsetto vocals and ditto disarming simplicity in song writing. Consequently, the music sounds pretty much like a natural blend of Venom, Motörhead and very early Slayer. This way the band, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, is almost back at where they started back in the early 80’s; completing the cycle.
That Gezol & Co have Heavy Metal in their veins and that they live their rock ‘n’ roll attitude is evident in every song of the album, whether it is ‘Oh My Baby 666’ or ‘Black Metal Tornado’, it all sounds so incredibly charming and fits to the band as a glove. I’m quite sure that there aren’t many people who were expecting a more Black Metal-laced album such as ‘Envenom’ (1991) or ‘Evoke’ (1992) or a the more brutal approach as on ‘Disembody’ (1993) or ‘Fetishism’ (1994) on which the band had an almost Death Metal sound. That ‘Sabbaticult’ doesn’t have that much Black Metal to offer is of no big importance, as their very core has remained untouched for the most part. They might have wrapped their musical ideas in slightly different guises, Sabbat is still very much Sabbat.
Yes, ‘Sabbaticult’ is just a 40-minute treat for those who love their metal authentic and without any unnecessary frills. To me, listening to Sabbat always feels a bit like stepping into a time machine, they are preserving a certain sound that is a rarity in these times of overproduced pro-tool sort of bands as well as the raw, almost snobbish kind of bed-room Black Metal bands. This obviously is the real deal: Sabbat is as genuine a band you can get.
The band really knows better than anyone how unpretentious Black/Heavy/Thrash Metal should sound. It may not have a huge amount going for it, but I dare you not to like it! Even on this tenth full-length album, Sabbat just keeps right on being themselves and axes their name even more firmly in the book of Heavy Metal.
Sabbat
- Country: Japan
- Style: Black Metal, Thrash Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube
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