Sabbath Assembly

Note: in case somebody is curious, this is my Secret Satan album for the challenge.

I'm not familiar with the band's previous output whatsoever, but since there's a note on the band page that says "Accepted based on the album Sabbath Assembly," I'd guess their previous output wasn't metal. Furthermore, based on the name and the Similar Artists bands listed, I'd guess they were occult rock. I'm making that assumption on those things alone without having actually heard the music, but it seems a safe assumption, especially considering the vocalist. Another group in the female-fronted occult rock craze (when will it end? when?!!), assumedly, the group almost definitely has taken a very large step in a very different direction here. This is doom/melodic death metal (not melodeath/Gothenburg; death metal that is melodic in nature). There are traditional doom elements as well, but for the most part the riffs are pure doom/death, which is not only bizarre given what the band's history seems to be, but apparently the vocalist didn't want to change her vocal style at all. Even doom/death that's heavily on the melodic side (Rapture, October Tide) typically doesn't use exclusively clean vocals, and for good reason; it tends to detract from the experience. Personally, I'm all for death/doom or funeral doom including some cleans, more so than a lot of others I've encountered, but using exclusively cleans is just fucking insane. For one thing, I think it is confusing in the sense that the listener isn't sure whether to pay attention to the vocal melody or the riffs; with harsh vocals, there is no melody and you're much more focused on the riffs, which is how the style is typically meant to be played. For another, it cheapens the riffs by not giving them an appropriate counterpart, contrasting dark, nasty riffs with something that's not dark and nasty at all. Finally, something that's only relevant here, the lead vocalist isn't even all that strong for metal of any kind.

Okay, okay - maybe this isn't really pure melodic death/doom - I'd estimate about 80% or so, with some of the aforementioned trad doom influence, some thrash influence, and some heavy metal influence. Still, this is way too heavy and riff-oriented for this vocalist by far. She never even approaches aggressive, either choosing to do so very stupidly or simply incapable of it; either way the band is at fault. She should have either made her vocals much more aggressive (and there really need to be at least some completely harsh vocals), or the band should have hired a harsh vocalist for the album. It does look like there was only about a year and half between this and the previous (assumedly occult rock) album, which clearly wasn't enough time for the band to effectively change genres so radically. Bands have done so in less time, but I hope that the reason for the sloppiness here is that they transitioned too quickly - the alternative is that they thought pairing melodic/death doom with tame and honestly fairly boring clean female vocals was a good idea, which would mean they're all complete fucking idiots. So I'll be optimistic and go for the "not enough time" thing.

The most infuriating thing about the album, perhaps, the last 3 songs, especially "Ave Satanas." Oh, "Sharp Edge of the Earth" and "Apparition of the Revolution" are definitely worse, but "Ave Satanas" is the most infuriating nonetheless. These 3 songs heavily tone back the heavier/extreme metal elements, but instead of getting a better experience due to the vocals finally fitting the music, it's just really boring and lifeless as hell. Yes - the vocals do fit the music better here, and both are mediocre. The songwriting just meanders constantly and never really does anything. Honestly, the songwriting on the first 5 songs is significantly better, but the vocals are still mediocre...UGH. However, the thing that's most infuriating about "Ave Satanas" as that there's a part where the vocalist actually starts shouting somewhat menacingly - not harshly, but it's still a step in the right direction - which she for some puzzling reason doesn't do on any of the heavier tracks. Jesus fucking christ, guys, get it together. Ultimately, there are some good ideas on the album - the riffing on the first 5 songs is actually rather decent and somewhat enjoyable on its own - but the shitty vocals, combined with the boring, lazy songwriting of the last 3 tracks, and the confused multiple directions overall, make this album not really worth much of a listen. Pass on this band and if you really want a female fronted occult rock/metal fix, go for something cool like Dead Temple.