'Swallowed in Black' is a largely speedy affair, although there are some calmer moments here and there, and even a bit of atmosphere, such as the demonic chanting that greets the listener on the opening track, 'Black' or the acoustic intro to, 'Man Infestation.' Then of course a big part of Sadus is just the technical wizardry of their music, which is mostly due to Steve DiGiorgio's hammering fretless bass guitar that is just as audible as the guitars. Who could resist that quick and ultra cool bass intro to, 'Images' or just the quick and almost random but killer sounding technical bass licks that are all over this record, likewise you kind of got to to dig the way he plays just as fast as guitarists Darren Travis and Rob Moore.
Speaking of the guitarists, their technicalities are all over this beast too, with tons of quick riffs that are intricate and hard hitting as well as some punishing solos too. As I said earlier the music is mostly speedy with lots of interesting time signatures and really odd song structures, which could very well have paved the way for future technical metalers. You've also got to give drummer, Jon Allen, some praise with his often times varying beats that are mostly pummeling fast to mid-pace, with loads of complex patterns and even a few blast beats here and there. Of course you've just got to dig Darren's screams on the album too. A total maniac and I freakin' love it!
A superb record with many greats, such as, 'Black,' 'Man Infestation,' 'Images,' 'Arise' and even the quick minute long, 'In Your Face' are excellent. Sadus would get far more complex by the time they released, 'A Vision of Misery' in '92, but a lot of aggressiveness and speed was gone in favor of just showing off, which didn't do it for me. I never heard, 'Elements of Anger' from '97, but I did receive a promo copy of the bands comeback album, 'Out for Blood' in '06, but that too I thought was boring. Therefore, stick to the debut and this killer classic known as, 'Swallowed in Black.'
This album was so underrated at the time and still is. As much as I like what was coming out in thrash metal in 1990, this album to me was a step above the rest. I thought so then and still think so to this day. In high school, which is where I was in life when this album came out, people thought I was insane for saying it was better than Slayer's and Megadeth's album. But I had to be honest with myself. Just to go with the safe answer was not programmed in my brain.
ReplyDeleteRight on, man! Its definitely on the same level of excellence as a lot of releases around that time, but the technical side is far advanced. Great stuff!
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