Sadist

What we have here has to be among the best comebacks in recent years. I was previously only familiar with Sadist’s 1996 album ‘Tribe’, which showed great ideas somewhat overshadowed by inconsistency. This one, however, is fast becoming one of my personal favourites in the field of progressive metal.

Everything you could ever ask for is here. The riffs are precise and complex, yet powerful; the (surprisingly few) solos eloquent without the least bit of meaningless showing-off; the keyboards, although prominent, are not overpowering. Even an instrument as cliche-borne as the sitar is used effectively here, with no trace of “just for the hell of it”. Most importantly, the band – or mainman Tommaso Talamanca, rather – has learned to write some great songs. The structures are innovative but logical and every part is there for a reason. A common flaw in this style of music, the use of weird time signatures and off-the-wall tempo changes without good reason, is almost non-existent. The rhythms are relatively straightforward, which is something I consider a plus.

Even with keyboards present, Sadist is essentially a trio, which means that in particular the bass has a lot of room for maneuver. There are many who would abuse the privilege, but Andy Marchini does no such thing, instead delivering some of the finest low frequencies this side of Steve DiGiorgio. A few tasty bass solos also, executed with both skill and style. The somewhat Portnoy-ish drumming on the other hand may be a bit much for some; a slight case of overdoing it is noticeable at times, but for the most part, beats are fitting and drive the tracks on effortlessly.

But as much as I enjoy the music here, I still don’t like their vocalist. Granted, his efforts are more varied than eleven years earlier (even attempting a low growl now and then), and I value a good death-grunt as much as anyone, but I honestly feel clean vocals would suit this music a lot better. The vocals have very little to offer in the grand scheme of things, and serve primarily as finger-pointing the song structures. This is certainly not a good thing. And I won’t even mention the lyrics.

Still, ‘Sadist’ is a brilliant album. In short, this is how progressive metal should be done. If you want an example, check out the instrumental ‘Kopto’ (efficiently placed in the middle of the album): a simple yet appealing main theme with classy solos in the mid-section, airy and atmospheric all the way. There is no need for anything more than that. As for the whole album, some of the percentage off because of the vocals and one pointless instrumental track; overlooking those minor details, I would recommend this to any fan of progressive and/or technical metal, death or other.