Arson Cafe: Envenom

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Envenom

Artist: Sabbat

Genre: Black / Thrash Metal

Origin: Japan

Year: 1991

Label: Evil Records

The debut album by a very old Japanese band, which has been exercising anti-religious lyrics since the mid-eighties, almost at the same time with all the US / German masters. Sabbat has a series of awesome EPs from that period, which sound more like thrash but in imagery and text, they could easily fit the first wave of black metal and what influenced later bands.

During the nineties, the black / thrash elements became more apparent and they have been going until today. They also have a vast, vast discography, with countless mini releases, multiple in number per year.

Envenom is the first full work of Sabbat, released in 1991 by Evil Records, which is Gezol's (the band's vocalist / bassist) label. The guy is a true metal maniac and has been paid tribute by no other than Darkthrone, since their track "I Am The Graves of the 80's" refers to him.

There is a certain transparency in Sabbat's music and the old school, dirty thrash sound is glorified through the cheesy - devilish tracks in Envenom. The vocals are relatively harsh and speed metal is ongoing.

The version I have is the re-release from Iron Pegasus records in 2016, which I think is also their current label. It comes with an old interview from that time (I think around 1990) which is awesome to read. Later, it was re-released again by Nuclear War. Primitive music played honestly, and this was proven by the steadiness of Sabbat all these years.

It was not the first piece I listened by them and I have mostly spent time around their 80s - 90s stuff, and not the rest, which are a lot. Envenom has a great production (listen to the drums), and a variety of interesting moments in its tracks.

Synths are used in "Bewitch", and "Reminiscent Bell", which give an almost space ambient kind of feeling, different from the 100% old school, filthy of the rest of the record. All songs kick ass.

The band had a series of good albums in that decade and offered to me some of the best black / thrash I have ever heard. Favorites are "Reek of Cremation", "Eviler", "Devil Worship" and "King of Hell".

Track listing:

1. Bewitch

2. The Sixth Candle

3. Satan Bless You

4. Evil Nations

5. Devil Worship

6. Reek of Cremation

7. Deathtemptation (Kanashibari Part 2)

8. King of Hell

9. Eviler

10. Carcassvoice

11. Dead March

12. Reminiscent Bells

Listen on Bandcamp

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Reckoning

From all the hills came screams. A piece of sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was a loosened circle of evening sky, suddenly lighted from the back. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere; it was a flat disk; it was almost over the sun. That is when there were screams. At once this disk of sky slid over the sun like a lid. The sky snapped over the sun like a lens cover. The hatch in the brain slammed. Abruptly it was dark night, on the land and in the sky. In the night sky was a tiny ring of light. The hole where the sun belongs is very small. A thin ring of light marked its place. There was no sound. The eyes dried, the arteries drained, the lungs hushed. There was no world. We were the world’s dead people rotating and orbiting around and around, embedded in the planet’s crust, while the earth rolled down. Our minds were light-years distant, forgetful of almost everything.