Sabbat
Disembody

Seeing that there wasn't any review regarding the Nipponese Sabbat (a band that has been playing continuously since 1983 and despite limited fame has produced an endless number of releases, about 50!), I thought I absolutely had to get to work and write my first review...

I have in my hands the 2003 reissue in CD format of this album "Disembody" originally released in 1993 on Evil records. The cover is new, but the original one is included inside the booklet and on the CD itself; both are still very impactful!
The Japanese band (not to be confused with the English namesake) plays a satanic metal influenced by black and thrash, recreating rotten and devilishly evil-laden atmospheres! The titles alone speak clearly; the band sings almost exclusively in a macaronic English, sometimes Japanized.

But let's move on to the tracks..

It starts with a post-apocalyptic wind, which I personally enjoy, giving way to the actual piece, "The seven crosses of damnation": fast and sustained riffs are alternated with slower parts; the alternation between the two voices, one more evil than the other, is also enjoyable; the continuous changes in rhythm and chords make the piece anything but boring, and in the finale, there's even room for a solo; the second track is "Bird of ill omen"; it starts with a sound that could be the chirping of a mechanical crow and paves the way for a fast black\thrash riff; there's just enough time for a welcomed "uh!" before it slows down for the chorus; the two guitars alternate with a solo each, and meanwhile, it’s impossible not to nod your head along with the insistent rhythms; another "uh!" and it resumes until the finale. The following track "Metamorphosis" is worth the purchase of the entire album by itself! The piece is characterized by its particular intro: an "ominous" guitar arpeggio begins, joined by a low whisper, a talking and lamenting voice, presumably in Japanese; its suffering increases when the guitar concludes its arpeggio and turns into a terrible tormented wail that in turn ends with a guttural demonic cry worthy of Satan himself. A powerful gallop begins, followed by a slower chorus clouded by terrible guttural screams; when it resumes at a sustained pace, it's solo time, and again the two guitars alternate in a positive escalation of ignorance (in the best sense, of course!). The full sound of the distorted bass, as we like it, serves as an excellent background when the guitars are engaged in solos. The structure of the piece repeats itself, including the arpeggio and also restarts with the lament and the demonic metamorphosis! The finale, once again arpeggiated, concludes the five and a half minutes of the track.

It's now time for "Diabolicaldom", an instrumental piece, with various passages and changes that make these two minutes pleasant, despite the absence of the corrupted vocalists. With a mighty distorted bass line from the very mad Gezol, the mastermind of the band and also the main voice, the fifth track "Unknown massacra" starts, and it's not a transcription error! The tupa-tutupa reigns for the first two minutes; on a slow and cadenced rhythm, it’s then time for wandering solos that precede another fast part that leads to the conclusion of the piece. Now it’s time for "Evoke the evil"; in the fast initial thrash riff, the voices alternate, a verse each, one more guttural in the RIGHT channel, one more shrill in the LEFT; and so it is even when the rhythm slows down in the cadence-laden chorus with a powerful hammering double bass drum; subsequently, the two voices merge with the cry of "Evil! Evil!" until it's time for a really thrilling turn, and then some vaguely epic solos start that help create a characteristic atmosphere leading us to the end of this varied six-and-a-half-minute piece. It returns to speed with the following "Satanas", and here both voices are shrill; a particular effect on the voice is used in the chorus, giving rise to a kind of very evocative scream-sucked-backwards! A downtempo break separates the solo from the previous part, to then finish with the speed of the beginning. The titles speak volumes about the style of the band, and indeed it’s time for "Reversed bible"! A piece that is always very lively, with the peculiarity of containing some grunts to always fuel that diseased atmosphere that characterizes the band; with a putrid black turn at increasing volume "Flower's red" starts; the voice is cavernous and alternates with some high-pitched heavy notes (just to remind that the band shares members with the legendary gods of heavy\speed Metalucifer); a gallop and off with a wha-wha solo; the finale is as it resumes the initial riff; The tenth track is "Ghost in the mirror"; the guitar starts followed by bass and drums and finally by an ever more cavernous and desecrating voice; here too the alternation of riffs and different tempos let several minutes pass by pleasantly until the fake chaotic finale that is followed, in surprise, by a powerful solo riff; a voice is inserted later with an incomprehensible speech, and the album ends the way it began, that is with the aforementioned nuclear wind.

There are two bonus tracks on the CD I own: "Reversed bible" and "Evoke the evil", excellently played and a tad faster than the studio version, by these four satanic samurai; noteworthy are the delirious cries of the audience chanting "Satanaaaaaaas!" between one piece and the next.

Needless to say, I recommend this album to lovers of the most underground and mephitic black-thrash!
The only downside, the absence of lyrics (but perhaps justified by the macaronic factor!!)