...for Satan and Sacrifice

1994 marks Sabbat's 10th anniversary and to celebrate this appropriately, they decided to release two compilation albums of re-recorded rare and unreleased material. Well both Black Up Your Soul... and ...For Satan and Sacrifice features these rare materials and each five songs from their albums, it's a kind of best-of included. It's something I find rather weird with the compilations, they like have put together two halfs of different releases on two different ones, like the ...To Praise the Sabbatical Queen one, where it was live tracks probably forming a live album instead of already released studio material. Still, the real meat of the release is most solid.

The first two tracks are in fact two combined songs, which really sounds as one. Both songs making up the first part seem like they were originally instrumental tracks as it takes some time until the guys actually sing. Along "The Egg of Dapple", a slower, almost doomy track, the following material sound slightly different in production, not too bothersome since most sound better. So after some sound effects and keyboards, the black thrashin' begins. Being old songs taken from their first eps and not played by guitarist Temis Osmond but Elizaveat, it sounds a little different than what Sabbat played at the time and more akin to Envenom material. It's a lot thrashier and Temis' style of riffing, particularly the leads, aren't much present. The rhythm riffs Elizaveat played - and plays for this recording along the then current guitarist - were still Sabbat sounding though, Temis didn't invent everything. His soloing style was more heavy metal as some of the riffs in "Mion's Hill". Speaking of their eponymous ep's side b, it is present in a version 7 minutes longer, featuring solo battles from both guitarists and additional leads making the song even more epic than it normally is. The compilation also features an exclusive early Sabbat track "Immortality of the Soul" which seem to have been recorded at a different session, it only has been re-released once as a rehearsal version on Hamaguri Resurrection. Overall it's Sabbat's thrashier side taking place with a lot of solos. "Gideon" is a never before heard track, which some parts have been used for The Dwelling's only song. The release also features a Satan cover, a NWoBHM band, "Kiss of Death". I never heard the original, but it sounds great, almost sabbatical at times, so it's a welcomed addition.

The recording sounds rather weak at moments, particularly the thin guitars which sometimes bury the bass. Well the sound is particularly weak on the first two tracks and on "Acid Angel", the tracks seem to be from four or five different recordings. The sound is not essentially different, mostly the guitar tone and the bass. Because of the production, depending on the songs, the atmosphere comes from the riffs themselves and vocals themselves than anything else. For the musicianship, there's not much to say, the guys are good and you're not like: "well the drumming is ok" for example. As for the vocals, it's mostly Gezol's harsher vocals here, he sounds good, is believable and seem to be accompanied by Ozny - an ex-Sabbat guitarist at a time when they were two until he "beat the living daylights out of a guy" who gave him the finger during a show - who provides some kind of vocals and whispers.

Then comes the album tracks. They aren't really of any use if you have the album, at least it's a good choice of songs. "Sodoomed - Disembody Into the Abyss", though, is rather interesting and welcomed as it's an alternate version with an intro of "Disembody Into the Abyss". "Sodoomed" is really good, it first starts with some sounds similar to those of the original and is mostly some rhythm thrash riffs. It's great to hear Fetishism start with those "yahg! yahg!" screams, but you wonder why the intro wasn't included on the album. The rest of the song isn't exactly identical to the version on the album, it has additional leads put on top of some riffs, as well as screams here and there usually in moments when there are. It's a good result, but the original sounds better, only adding the intro for a reissue of Fetishism could have been nice. As it's the only track from that album on both compilations, and since ...For Satan and Sacrifice was released a year after the first compilation - probably delayed - and that album, the song was probably intended as a teaser.

Not counting the album tracks, it's almost an hour long of material so you can take them as a bonus. It's your typical Sabbat thing, most solid black/thrash metal with a dark and gloomy atmosphere. The songs show Sabbat were really good in their early days, and those re-recordings were welcomed with open arms as the original ones were somewhat lacking and this cd is a lot more easy to get hold of than their early eps. It's rare, so if you're a Sabbat fan and/or don't like to download, it's well worth the hunt; more than the crap HMSS has been pouring out non-stop for years.