Sabbaticult

One of black metal's most prolific acts of all time is Japan's Sabbat! This year brings what could be their last ever studio album...

Venomous riffing and blasting drums fire into the hellish onslaught with Gezol's malicious vocals ensuing. Instantly the cold and evil black metal assault of Sabbat is recognisable and punishing. The low end is crushing and the rest pierces like a rusted blade, as the entire band sledgehammers satanic fury into your skull with their thrashing sensibilities seeping into the diabolism. Aside from the blacking violence, the traditional elements are still there, especially in the guitar solos which howl with hellish melody. There has always been something very unique about this band and their unusual cult sounds and thankfully it seems this new offering holds all of that charm. Blisteringly dark and with those clever subtleties that will always be gripping on a Sabbat record, from the mournful doomy sections to the pulverising thrash nightmares, there is not a second that feels dull or lazy. Never relaxing, only forging forward with their metallic might, slicing posers with katanas of heavy metal steel.

From the sawing bass lines to the shurikens of ferocious riffs, the bombastic kamikaze drums to the carnal howling vocals; everything on this record feels like the band giving it their all for another bout of martial carnage. They might not be breaking new ground, but they are the pioneers, they can blast their own style if they wish to... Especially when they can still do so with such magnificent results. It's rough around the edges, it's janky, but that is all a part of the Sabbat charm which time has told us; some people get and some do not. Their original and undying take on black metal is one that I adore and has always been held in high regard within the underground, which is where a band of true die-hard fanatics belongs anyway. Their dedication and passion to the old school is still palpable in every note of their music and that is why we love them. This is probably best showcased on closing spectacle “Kanashibari The Dwelling” which is a Mercyful Fate-esque epic that closes the record in grandiose style with a masterpiece of a track. Shrieking the satanic verses until the decimating album comes to its end, Sabbat have left their mark on the underground and this legacy shall never die. "Sabbaticult" is yet another strong confirmation of this fact.

Sabbat are back, maybe for the last time... But either way they have left us another cult relic of black metal evilness that screams from the depths of hades with the unique onslaught that only these Japanese maniacs can offer. With such a lengthy and prosperous career of delivering underground mayhem, by now you should know what a Sabbat album entails. This one is another killer which shall not disappoint...

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com