Never heard of Sadus? Dumb question, I guess. In case you have you probably won’t need to read this anyway. Sadus are a thrash/death metal band made up by singer/guitar player Darren Travis, drummer Jon Allen and last but not least bass-virtuoso Steve DiGiorgio of Death, Control Denied, Iced Earth, Testament, Autopsy and recently even Sebastian Bach-fame (among a shit-load of other bands). Not only due to the latter, DiGiorgio, Sadus is considered the single most underrated thrash band of all time by many. Me, for instance.
After taking a break after their last album “Elements of Anger” from 1997, mostly due to the members being busy with other projects, I guess, this is now their fifth album: “Out For Blood”. I kind of lost track of the band a while ago, and even missed the last one, so I’m all the happier to hear this one.
Well, this album doesn’t really give you any time to think about whether it’s what you expected, whether you liked this or that album better, whether it reminds you of this or that band, because it’s just full throttle from the start, which is what any good thrash album should be like.
A minute into the first song… This is fucking brutal! And I’m not talking old-fashioned “Reign In Blood is the sickest album of all time, dude”-brutal but rather “Holy shit, I think Dimmu Borgir is kind of cute but what the hell is this?!”-brutal.
Excellent death metal riffing meets pure thrash metal fury. And everything on a top-notch technical level. It’s always refreshing to hear a metal production where there is room left for the bass, even if it wasn’t for Steve DiGiorgio being such an insane player. There aren’t many guitar leads on this album, but instead speaking of a lead bass here and there would by no means be an overstatement. Darren Travis doesn’t sound as extreme as on the debut anymore but he still has one of the sickest voices I’ve ever heard. Watch out, cookie monsters! The drumming is just fast as fuck. I’ve always been a sucker for the high-speed thrash beat, much more aggressive than constant blast beats in my opinion. Nothing really extraordinary, but it is still just what these songs call for and Jon Allen shows he can lay down a mean groove too. Everything fits perfectly.
The main difference here, compared to their older releases, lies in the increased use of death metal elements and rhythm-oriented stuff, and even though I still think they’re best when playing fast, there’s no doubt you’re listening to Sadus at any point; a Sadus who has evolved without abandoning their roots. The down-tuned guitars, the great modern sound and some synth gadgetry prevent the album from sounding dated at all, which is often held against metal bands who refuse to jump on the latest bandwagon for some reason.
Without going into every track since the album is qualitatively consistent throughout, let me just point out what I consider to be the standout songs on here:
First there’s “Sick”, which sounds like it came straight from the “Chemical Exposure” sessions. Just straight balls-to-the-wall thrash. Simple but effective.
Then there’s “In The Name Of”, which just covers pretty much all what makes the typical Sadus sound: fast, brutal and diverse - yet catchy. Definitely a good choice for an opening track. The same goes for “Cursed”, which also includes some of the best bass work you’ll hear on a metal album. “No More” also deserves to be mentioned, since it’s so gloomy and as heavy as it can get. Killer riffs with sick vocals on top interrupted by crazy prog-interludes and keyboard-noises.
But my favourite track on “Out for Blood” is probably the title track. I wouldn’t mind jumping off one or two stages to this song. This might be the perfect transition from death metal to thrash, or the other way around. At least I have never heard elements of both styles being combined and made work so well together before.
This album is definitely a must-have for everyone who ever liked the band. I’d even go as far as saying that this album is a must for every thrash AND death metal fan who’s never even heard of them. In my opinion, this is the band all the mourning Death fans should be following instead of waiting for the release of more Control Denied leftovers (sacrilegious, I know… blow me). Although it’s impossible to find any bands that really are comparable to Sadus this should appeal to everyone who’s into progressive but still extreme metal like Death, later Dark Angel or even 90’s Testament (whose singer Chuck Billy also makes a guest appearance on here, BTW). Or if you aren’t familiar with any of those, just picture early Sepultura – but with skills.
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Sadus
"Out for Blood"
Rating:
Reviewed by:
Sebastian Bullhorn
Artwork used with permission from Neverland Music Inc.
