ALBUM REVIEW: Spellbound – Sadist
Italy has become a hotbed for heavy music over the past two or three decades with plenty of important staples in the metal community hailing from its shores such as LACUNA COIL, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE and RHAPSODY. One band that has seemingly gone under the radar for many people is the progressive metal outfit SADIST. The band formed in Genoa in 1990 and have released a total of seven full length studio albums (along with a multitude of self-released demos). The veterans are now back with their eighth full length album: Spellbound. A concept album that centres on the immortal body of work of the late, great Sir Alfred Hitchcock, with a majority of the tracks on the album being named after his respective films.
Flick past the brief introduction to the first real taste of new music on display: The Birds, which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album. The vocals are straight up death metal, switching between low guttural growls and shrill banshee screams that demonstrate just how versatile the voice of front man Trevor Nadir is. The drumming from Alessio Spallarossa is technically impressive and ties in well with Andy Marchini on the bass guitar to create the solid base that is so valuable to a band of this style. The guitar work is well written and skilful, but it has been mixed in such a way that at times it appears to be almost intelligible, sounding like it has been recorded under water which is a great shame.
The melody for this track is found solely in the CHILDREN OF BODOM-styled keys that are used to make the retro horror film style atmospherics come to life which is a theme that is used throughout the entirety of the album. The title track that follows is very much in the same vein. The atmospheric keys continue to tie the tracks together and the rest of the instrumental parts sound as frantic as the song that preceded it. The inclusion of a clean break in the middle of the song is a welcome addition and breaks up the monotony at just the right point with its almost jazzy bass line and warm drum sound. Songs such as Rear Window and Bloody Bates are perfect examples of what guitarist Tommy Talamanca is capable of when he is given the chance to shine. That is not to say that there are not plenty of instances of great guitar playing on Spellbound, rather that they are often overlooked since they have not displayed properly for large portions of the album and gets drowned out far too often.
The first minute or so of Frenzy is the highlight of the entire album. The pulverising drumming from Spallarossa and percussive strumming patterns from the stringed instruments create a real assault on the senses and give the album an excellent stylistic shift before applying the brakes and leading into a chilling piano piece, coupled with another excellent funky bass riff from Marchini. The rest of the track sees the band reverting back to the by-the-numbers death metal style that has served them well for the rest of the album which despite being well written and executed feels like a shame when the track showed such promise for being something a little different.
Spellbound is an album that has some real moments of brilliance. However, it is in these moments that you become a little frustrated that the key weapons in SADIST‘s arsenal are not utilised more. The inventive, lighting fast fret hand of Marchini deserves plenty more of the spotlight, especially when he interlinks with the intricate drum patterns so well in the interludes and breaks in the songs. The guitar work is superb, but the sound is hindered and effectively muzzled by the way that it has been recorded. The ideas are there, but in the same way that the band have seemed to struggle throughout their career, the pieces are just not moulded together in the way that make for a great album. A frustrating release for a band that have the potential to do so much more and have done previously.
Rating: 6/10
Spellbound is set for release November 9th via Scarlet Records.
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