Elements of Anger

You have to give it to Darren Travis: the man patiently waits for Steve DiGiorgio to complete all his duties to half the metal fraternity in order to sit down and compose something new under the Sadus banner. He hasn’t taken part in any other act all these years; which is a real shame since he remains one of the finest guitar players to ever grace the thrash metal scene. So much for dedication and devotion to a single entity throughout an entire creative period…

cause Sadus could have contributed so much more to the field. From their initial pristine bashing beginnings they quickly rose to the sadus… sorry, status of prime technical thrash/death metal practitioners with an outstanding double (“Swallowed In Black”, “Visions of Misery”) which also saw them lasting beyond the proverbial 1991 as the last great year for metal. However, the 90’s were screaming for new sounds and other musical vogues, and almost every 80’s thrash metal practitioner had to adapt to those demands, more or less appropriately. DiGiorgio was also in high demand at the time as a session musician, but the band still found the time to record the “Red Demo” in 1994 which was a sign that they would also be willing to obey the new canons… in their own way.

Then the “Chronicles of Chaos” compilation appeared three years later the guys reminding of their glorious past by putting together songs from their first three efforts; hopefully a hint at another old school death/thrashterpiece to emerge soon. The new opus eventually followed although its title didn’t exactly hint at bombastic retro exploits to be contained within, with the cuts from the Red Demo save one (“Black March”) also featured. Begins “Aggression”, and a lot of anger and aggression start pouring over the listener who has no reasons to complain at this early stage as the guys thrash with technicality and just casual proto-modern shades. Everything seems to be perfectly in place on this eventful piece, Travis’ signature hectic guitar pyrotechnics and staple dramatic shouts, DiGiorgio’s affirmative, authoritative burps… “Crutch” follows suit and full-blooded modern thrash enters the arena making this modern progressiver a cool biting composition. “Words of War” is a wild retro thrasher with more eclectic technical decisions and frequently changing tempos some of those bordering on death metal.

“Safety in Numbers” looks for safety in a sprawling balladic interlude and later remains long in atmosphere, a minimalistic mid-pacer with creepy suggestive riffs fighting with the circulating quiet passages the whole time. “Mask” follows a similar trajectory without speeding up too much, recalling Grip Inc.’s approach where thrash and deep atmospherics have also formed really attractive symbiosis. “Fuel” is the short shredder form the Red Demo, a formidable steam-roller with a maddening fast-paced section in the second half. “Power of One” is another cut from the demo, a mid-tempo roller-coaster with sinister doomy overtones; and “Stronger than Life” is an urgent headbanger destroying everything in its way with its raging rapidfire guitars which only stop for the stomping mid-break. “Unreality”’s surreal intro suggests another “unreal” modern opera, and the band indeed mosh in a chunky, jumpy manner not thrashing very hard, relying more on stylish semi-technical quirks to pull it through. “In the End” is, of course, the last number, a semi-balladic groover which is nothing but a subdued epitaph to this modernist saga.

Yes, Sadus adapted to the modern tastes as well, one of the last fortresses to fall, ironically shortly before the old school came back in fashion. Unlike some other outfits (Exodus, Anthrax, Destruction, Kreator, Overkill), though, who drastically altered their style in order to sound relevant, our friends here somehow managed to retain their roots. Even the biggest optimists out there couldn’t have expected “Swallowed in Black 2” to grace their ears in the late-90’s, but at the same time not many were those who readily embraced Sadus’ new face, and this album failed to generate very positive reviews back then. It seemed as though the music media was avidly looking for fallen 80’s heroes to crucify them further by labelling them as traitors and the likes. The fact is that this opus presented modern thrash in its finest form in a way very similar to the already mentioned Grip Inc. works, without completely destroying the bridges towards the classic metal rules. The only issue that came to mind was its timing: how would any other potential “elements of anger” fit into the retro thrash resurrection wave that was already valiantly looming on the horizon? By no means anyone wanted to see Sadus, of all bands, flagging a dead horse at the least appropriate time…

well, with DiGiorgio’s perennially busy schedule, this issue never became a very pressing one for the Sadus team. They were destined to lay low for the umpteenth time, with Travis and Co. (the Co. part comprising the drummer Jon Allen) painstakingly waiting for another moment to strike whenever DiGiorgio could recall that he does actually have a main band. However, the gap this time seemed unsurmountable: “Out for Blood” came out in 2006, nearly a decade later, when half of the 80’s thrash constellation was already fully operational again, thoroughly enjoying their second spell with the music industry. Sadus begged to differ again; this album was a very faithful sequel to the previous one with the band paying tribute to the 90’s by inserting the obligatory echoes from their roots. Universally denounced, it wasn’t a bad effort at all, and those who appreciated the modernized delivery on “Elements…” must have been delighted. There were a few inept numetal references (“Smackdown”) present, but overall it all sounded kind of refreshing and invigorating having in mind the blind emulation of the old school laws into which both the new and old outfits were indulging, and still are at present.

Not surprisingly, another lengthy period of silence followed, and is still going as of now. There has been no news from the Sadus camp for over ten years excluding the live album from Chile released in 2015. At least that’s a sign that there are ashes smouldering over there, and it shouldn’t take long before they acquire a more tangible form to give another lesson in anger to the new millennium’s metal fanbase.