Sabbat - Karmagmassacre
Sabbat is a Japanese raw black metal band. They incorporate a sort of heavy metal sound into their music similar to that of Impaled Nazarene. This band would attract fans of such bands as Venom and Hellhammer. Their soudn of black metal isn't very grim or dark sounding compared to some of the black metal bands that have come out Scandinavia in the past 10-15 years, which makes them original IMO. They are a fairly-fast tempo throughout most of their trakcs and have many solos and intricate rifs.In total, (up to 2005) they have released 24 live albums, 34 Eps, and 13 full-lengths. In 1984, Gezol left the band for reasons unknown. The band continued to release previously unreleased music until Gezol finally decided to come back in 1990. From that point until now, they have been steadily releasing everything from split CDs to Live albums, and EPs to full-lengths. Which leads to me to my review of their album ‘Karmagmassacre.’
Gezol’s lead vocals are really enjoyable for the listener and sound different than most black metal vocalists. His growl/scream doesn’t seem to be as raw as other names in black metal. The lyrics are bad and cheesy, but who cares right? The singing blends well with the rest of the instruments and that’s all that matters.
The guitar work by Temis Osmond was surprisingly good on this record. Very original riffing and power chords on most of the tracks, minor use of pinch harmonics. Interesting breakdowns and most of times, shredding solos. ‘Possession Of The Reaper’ is my favourite song guitar wise.
Now for the drums and bass. I found drums to be disappointing for black metal. Not near enough blast beats or technicality, just really, really basic drums. The bass patterns basically just stick with the guitar riffs, but still good work on the base, not entirely basic anyway.
The production on this album is fairly sloppy. But I’ve DEFINITELY heard much worse. I find this album, if anything, to be just right with the rawness still there but still good enough quality to not get an ear full of feedback and instruments being totally drowned.
Overall, I am really happy with this album. If you have soulseek, you can get it off me, my name is NightOfEternalFlame. You won’t be disappointed with this good piece of musicianship by Sabbat.
Sabbat is:
Gezol - Vox, Bass
Temis Osmond - Guitars, Vox, Keyboards
Zorugelion - Drums, Vox
Pros:
Great, Intricate guitar riffs/solos
Perfect blend of rawness and sound quality of production
Cons:
Vox might not be what's expected in black metal
Drums are basic, and no blast beats
