Review Summary: Saidan return with their best effort yet.
Saidan has been tearing up the black metal scene in recent years, that's one thing that is for sure. Blending melodic black metal with hardcore punk attitudes, heavy metal riffage and Japanese imagery, they've taken the black metal world by storm in the 2020s. Their previous album,
Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity, saw them evolve into something more than just a raw melodic black metal band. Sweeping leads and Iron Maiden-esque solos really took the band to a whole new level musically. Well, their newest album,
Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory's Wrist, turns it up even more and it results in the best thing that they've put out yet.
From the very beginning of the album, you're hit with punky, heavy metal-style riffs and production that wouldn't sound out of place on a classic Judas Priest or Maiden album. Everything is clear and concise and yet the riffs still give off a bit of that lo-fi edge of their first couple of records. It's almost hard rock-esque in a way that it's kind of like a black metal rock opera. The vocals are piercing and fit the music perfectly and we even get some operatic-style cleans every now and again. But, of course, like all Saidan albums, the riffs are the main draw. It's been really cool to see the evolution from a raw black metal band with static-inducing leads to the huge heavy metal influence and neoclassical guitar rhythms. The more that they work on this style, the more they perfect it and I am here for every single second of it. The entire album is catchy as hell and you'll find yourself giving the “stank face” to pretty much every single riff produced on this album.
You really can't ask for more when it comes to modern black metal, melodic black metal in general. Saidan is at the peak of this particular genre at this point and time and the constant evolution of their sound is something that all fans of them should look forward to. They're not afraid to step outside the box and try new things or experiment with new riffs and sounds. Add in the Japanese imagery and visual kei aspect to the music and it just increases the interest tenfold. Saidan isn't your normal black metal band. Yes, they wear their corpse paint and they do seem a bit goofy at times, but the point is that they're clearly having a great time making their own brand of black metal music and nobody should fault them for that.
Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory's Wrist is the best thing that the guys have done so far. It's a perfect combination between their early stages and the pure evolution that is clearly on display throughout the album. This is clearly one of the best black metal albums of 2026 so far, and in a year full of absolute bangers, that is nothing to scoff at.
