Sabbath Assembly (2015)



Sabbath Assembly (2015)

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, and dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”
Edgar Allan Poe

By: Ghost Writer
Have you already heard Motorhead's awesome recent cover of the Stones' Sympathy for the Devil? New Sabbath Assembly self-titled record opener, Rise from Below remind me of the same atmosphere, tension and dynamics of that classic Stones song, but Confessing a Murder goes all the way into really intense territory, taking us in an amazing trip through some of the most adventurous doom metal of recent years, add to that Jamie Meyers passionate vocals and Kevin Hufnagel's crunchy guitars put in fully display in tunes like Burn Me and the elements for an astonishing record are all present.

Big and heavy doses of epic drama and wailing guitars are added on the almost anthemic Only You, which gave us a classic taste to the almost thrashing song, while The Firey Angel of Desire lurks in the shadows in a memorable and painful fashion, just to be turned into a more complex and confessional tune with Meyers doing a really awesome job with her voice, Meyers shining here on every second sounding like a really possessed soul on a mission of taking us all to hell.

No previous Sabbath Assembly record that I can remember possessed this desperate and immediate sound, an outstanding production job getting the mix is so hot, and guitars bite with uncontrollable force, Meyers wailing like a spirit screaming for vengeance while the rhythm section goes from scary black mass to intense volcanic lava without losing nothing of its darkly elegant cadence for a second, as in Ave Satanas, giving a prime example that doom metal is not all about tradition and proving that there is enough room for innovation.

The delicate elegant interplay the band have been developing during previous years, shows again in the reflective and at the same time heavy progressive Sharp Edge of the Earth with its flirting towards British folk and its sudden turn into larger than life galloping epic riffs, just as the band delivers another first class slow burner in the form of Apparition of the Revolution with is incendiary brand of psychedelic hard hitting doom metal.

Closer theme Shadows of Emptiness is a total showcase for always impressive singer Jamie Meyers, whose passionate singing is put here in full demonic display, reaching an expressive point impossible for most doom bands to even come close to, and demonstrating this way, the uniqueness of this amazing band sound, a band lurking in the shadows for a long time and building their very own dark universe with each recording, might this be metal, folk or doom? I really don’t know, but is obvious that this band prefers to live in its own ambiguous world, but that doesn't prevent them from delivering one of the most ambitious musical outputs of the year.


Comments

Popular Posts