Sadokist - "Thy Saviour's Halo, Held by Horns" (Black Goat Terrorist 666, 2014; Blood Harvest, 2016)

Band: Sadokist
Title: Thy Saviour's Halo, Held by Horns
Genre: Black/Thrash metal
Year: 2016
Time: 33 min
Rating: 66.6












Snoods, bullet-belts, face-painting à la Beherit and studs as much as one can. THIS IS the look adored by me and it is just the look of Sadokist, a Finnish band founded in 2007 which, after the classic plethora of demos, compilations and splits in the classic underground-style, released on tape its debut album titled “Thy Saviour’s Halo, Held by Horns” only in 2014 by the small Ecuadorian label Black Goat Terrorist 666. But, after two years, “Thy Saviour’s Halo, Held by Horns” see a new light through the stronger Swedish label Blood Harvest, that just yesterday has reissued it in vinyl format so to give to the album the right recognition.

“Thy Saviour’s Halo, Held by Horns” is perfect for who want the most barbaric black/thrash metal in the style of Kreator, Summon, Sarcofago and the likes. But the Sadokist have some interesting skills than a more usual black/thrash metal band because, in primis, their songs, often strangely long (too much, at times!), are full of demented tempo changes since the opening track “Poisoned Souls”, and this also thanks to a very dynamic drummer, storming, at the same time, the listeners with a bunch of blast-beats. In secundis, many riffs of the band are very influenced by the purest ‘90s black metal creating also freezing and evocative melodies (like in “Dreaming of War”), not obviously forgetting the no compromise and diabolic screams of Sadist Stalker, which launches, at the end of the conclusive “…Forever”, a colossal “FUCK YOU!” in an ultra-misanthropic style à la Rok of Sadistik Execution!

The most exemplifying song of the album is probably the hyper-dynamic “Damnatio ad Bestias” also because it has both a bunch of noisy guitar solos and even doom tempos. I must mention also the very long “Dreaming of War” with its incredible peaks of senseless violence. And there is even an instrumental, “Udar Ghul”, that, if I am not mistaken, taken its title from two mythological Arabian creatures of female type.

 

 

But, to speak the truth, there is something that don’t entirely convince me in this album. Firstly, there aren’t so musical differences between the songs, hence showing a little variety despite their great dynamicity. Secondly, the very dusty and “necro” production, though I often like a similar sound especially for the purest black metal, is too weak so it is maybe the real Achilles’ heel of the album, and, in fact, I think that it should be better with also a bit cleaner production. Moreover, I suggest to the band to shorten the songs so to give to them a safer and better impact.

In other words, “Thy Saviour’s Halo, Held by Horns” is a war black/thrashing metal inferno perfectly balanced between strengths and weaknesses but I hope that the possible second album of the band will be decisively better than this first one. But, in case you are maniacal fans of black/thrash metal, enjoy the "Evil Sado Fuckin' Speed Metal of Death" of Sadokist and only listen to the call of 666!

Tracklist:

1 – Poisoned Souls
2 – Cult Fire
3 – Damnatio ad Bestias
4 – Udar Ghul
5 – Darkness Prayer
6 – Dreaming of War
7 - …Forever

Line-up (not specified into my promo kit, hence here you are the line-up of Sadokist according to Metal-Archives):

Sadist Stalker – vocals/drums
Hyper Ejakulator – guitars
Vorrtexx Armageddon – lead guitars

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sadokist/133840790114620
BandCamp: http://sadokist.bandcamp.com/releases
Blood Harvest: http://www.bloodharvest.se/
Black Goat Terrorist 666: http://blackgoatterrorist666.blogspot.de/