To this day Sadus remain one of the most important
thrash bands to have ever exploded out of the Bay
Area. Unfortunately, outside of die hard thrash circles
the band garnered little attention. Despite their
lack of fame however Sadus are easily one of the most
talented bands ever to don dog tags bearing the name
“metal” and one of only a handful of the
genre to be alive and well in 2007. Metal Mind Productions
have reissued Sadus first three, and arguably their
most influential, albums and fans that missed the
boat the first time need to pay special attention
this time around.
* Please note that these albums are all sold separately
even though they are reviewed together here.
The journey begins with the fats and furious battle
cry of Chemical Exposure. This album was originally
self-released under the name Illusions. A cassette
only release prior to being picked up by Roadrunner
saw the album’s name change, and eventually
it’s release as Chemical Exposure worldwide
by said label. This album makes for a hot debate because
Sadus never sound quite as fast again and the sheer
raw terror of songs like “Certain Death,”
“Fight or Die,” and “Torture”
is insane. This is the sound of a young band with
nothing to lose and a huge chip on their shoulder.
Through in some powerhouse musical skill and a knack
for writing songs that can go at the speed of light
and still keep your attention and you have the beginning
of something great. Every self-respecting fan of speed/thrash
metal, and dare I say black metal as well as the band
was obviously an influence on that scene, should own
this album. If you don’t, then you don’t
know your history. Shame on you. The reissue contains
tow bonus tracks from Sadus’ original demo,
Death to Posers, as and added treat.
Swallowed in Black was the next in line for this
amazing band. The vocals get a little deeper, the
songs get a little slower, and undeniably the production
values improve immensely. Swallowed in Black never
manages to capture the raw energy of Chemical Exposure
but it serves as a showcase for two of the band’s
finer points. First off it provides the listener with
their first real look into the band’s songwriting
prowess. Songs like “Last Abide” and “Powers
of Hate” take the band’s sound to new
levels in regards to songwriting and you can tell
they are no longer the “kids” that made
Chemical Exposure. Secondly the band’s talent
becomes even more obvious on Swallowed in Black. The
soloing alone is amazing but when you add in a much
more effective use of dynamics and atmosphere (see
“Black” and “In Your Face”)
and you have one hell of an album. Despite how different
this is from Chemical Exposure, this is where the
groundwork is laid for the longevity that Sadus has
experienced.
Which brings us to the final reissue in the bunch,
A Vision of Misery. By this point, Sadus had found
their feet and become not only one of speed/thrash/metal’s
premier bands, but also one of the cornerstones of
the black and death metal movements that were starting
to spread by this time (early nineties). A Vision
of Misery is probably the band’s most accomplished
work. No other album (although there isn’t a
bad one in the bunch) from Sadus really destroys like
this one does. “Through the Eyes of Greed”
boast guitar work so powerful and screams so haunting
that the mighty Dave Mustaine would have even looked
twice when he heard it. “Deceptive Perceptions”
grinds with an almost sludge like appeal that borders
on doom in spots. “Machines” and “Slave
to Misery” are superb as well and the sheer
musicianship is likely to leave any fan of hard music
speechless at the end. These are damn good songs and
if you look at the bigger picture, this is one of
the few speed/thrash albums that is truly timeless.
I opened this album in the early nineties and again
in 2007 and it doesn’t sound dated at all. This
is the stuff of legend.
So there you have it, the early works of Sadus brought
back to life for your enjoyment one more time. If
you haven’t heard Sadus before now is the time
to check them out. Fans of Testament, early Megadeth,
Mayhem, and Heathen should not miss out on these reissues.
Key Tracks:
Reviewed by Mark Fisher |
