At odds with the world, at odds with the self. — Whatever imagined daimonian spirit forces the hand-into-fist and shoulder-into-swing serves as a common delusion of some, spirituality to others, as we begin to explore agency and responsibility in the merit-driven zen garden of Antioch, California-based death/thrash metal duo Sadus who return with an energetic, illustrative and riff-clenching examination of the lack of accountability in modern society today on this long anticipated sixth full-length album. Encouraging mankind to look to the self, the inner protagonist, for the answers and much of the blame ‘The Shadow Inside‘ spares none of its shockingly vivid stabs at classicist death/thrashing riffcraft as they encourage an honest, virtuous path through adversity. Now in their thirty-eighth year as a band and clipped down to half their original ranks today no doubt the curious and long-dormant fandom will be shocked and compelled alike in finding the return of these legends not only inspired but trimmed down to a twisted-yet-tasteful, sometimes dirging/elsewhere thrashing yet still appropriately eccentric thrill herein.

Sadus formed as a quartet back in 1985 and within a couple of years they’d become a fixture within the East Bay/Bay Area heavy metal scene thanks to an over the top shrieking vocal, a focus on malevolent and chaotic thrashing speed, and a level of aggression conveyed that had them blurring the lines between emergent thrash and death metal scenery in those nascent stages of definition. The ‘D.T.P.‘ (1986) or ‘Death to Posers‘ demo tape would serve as an important release taking me from crossover thrash (specifically Cryptic Slaughter) worship to thrash metal obsession. When we look to the histories of well-revered contemporaries Insanity and Possessed the thing to note is that these folks (Sadus) knew their value relative to the global metal epidemic and refused to get fucked over by labels early on, eventually self-releasing their popular debut LP (‘Illusions‘, 1988) and proving their worth, getting bootlegged to hell on tape until they’d eventually signed to Roadracer who would reissue that first album (as ‘Chemical Exposure‘) after picking them up for one of my all-time favorite records, ‘Swallowed in Black‘ (1990). Most listeners today build their expectations for the band around one of those first two records alongside mentions as contemporaries alongside early Atheist, et al.

The early reputation of the band would notably shift with the times, perceived as maturing beyond their irreverent chaotic speed-obsessed beginnings when bassist Steve DiGiorgio would notably join Death for their all-time great ‘Human‘ (1991) and ‘Independent Thought Patterns‘ (1993) and Sadus would release their incredible third album, the Bill Metoyer produced progressive death/thrash masterpiece ‘A Vision of Misery‘ (1992) in between, showcasing a fanatical leap in personae and technical feature. Per my own fandom that’d been one of the early pinnacles of United States extreme metal in terms of the tenets of pure thrash metal and its collation with elements of emergent death metal and progressive metal, providing virtuosity with a purpose and a fiery soul beset in every song. When I see the Sadus name I hear that album in my mind. After the ‘Red‘ demo tape in 1994 second guitarist Rob Moore called it quits and the classic era of the band, the Mark I lineup was over. Instead of on-boarding members beyond that point they’d become less active and work with whomever was left. They’d seemingly kept at it as a unit through the release of the underrated ‘Elements of Anger‘ (1997) before the band would take a step back and allow time for members to step in for a new era of Testament in the late 90’s/early 2000’s (see: ‘The Gathering‘ etc.) as DiGiorgio‘s innovative style and use of fretless bass made him a bit of a hired gun, a virtuoso, and in demand since.

The most important question we can ask sixteen years beyond Sadus‘ not-entirely well received fifth album (‘Out For Blood‘, 2006) is “What do these two musicians want from Sadus in 2023?” Is there something to prove? Is there legacy enough to reprise or relight? Eh, three questions, and I have no direct answers to provide beyond my own opinion. — There is in fact a worthy legacy to protect and one which is fundamental to the development of United States death metal, highly influential to both technical death and thrash metal generations, and a presence which reminds fans and musicians alike of the late 80’s extremophile race for speed and ambition during a brief period of commercial viability for extreme metal on a scale which hasn’t been enjoyed here in the digital age. The real question to ask, then, becomes “What does the average Sadus fan want in 2023?” and this is much easier to answer, we’d like the old standard that this band set between 1985-1994 because that type of music is still being played and still manages to inspire.

DEEPER LISTENING [x]

Dead Head: A well-known Netherlands-based death/thrash metal group who’d managed a maniac debut LP with ‘The Feast Begins at Dawn‘ (1991) which should appeal to fans of earlier Sadus.

Hellwitch: A forever underground death/thrash metal band who’d never been able to capture the interest of the public, but still inspire the underground with their debut ‘Syzygial Miscreancy‘ (1990). Fast and technical work which compliments early Sadus demos and the first LP.

Suppression: A Chilean death metal band who’d recalled ‘A Vision of Misery‘ and a bit of Monstrosity on their debut ‘The Sorrow of Soul Through Flesh‘ (2022).

Reformed in 2017 and working at their own pace on ‘The Shadow Inside‘ since then it’d seem that the split-up of 2015 was more a matter of Steve DiGiorgio leaving the group than anything else. Drummer Jon Allen and vocalist/guitarist Darren Travis haven’t lost sight of the band they’d formed nearly forty years ago, in fact they’ve been deliberate in creating a continuation of all they’d done before rather than a simple call-back to the late 80’s which unfortunately does not include any of the virtuosic bass guitar temperament introduced beyond their first LP. As the ground collapses beneath our feet and opener “First Blood” yanks tight around the neck the familiar diction of Travis is immediately notable in its easily intelligible rasp and phrase dependent exaggerations as he cuts away at what we’d have to consider fairly straight forward tempo-play between late 80’s/early 90’s death-thrashing riffcraft. That opening number blazes past a somewhat complex tangle of moods, a feeling which few bands ever replicated beyond ‘Piece of Time‘, while providing all of the Sadus-specific dialogues fans will associate with their classic records. This is a pretty damned impressive opening moment and it goes on for a glorious seven minute piece but keep in mind this is a band who’d always kept all guns blazing but hey, not all of those guns had the same rate of fire.

“Scorched and Burnt” and 2022 release single “It’s the Sickness” suggest that, yes, some of the lyrics were kind of funny and weird on ‘Out For Blood‘ back in 2006 but the bones of their mid-paced grooves and such weren’t so out of context in hindsight. These are faster, more detailed pieces in most respects but there is an early 90’s Bay Area touched presentation to their almost catchy, wilding energy which is strongly representative of the Sadus name and sound. Side A is all about blazing through that first impression, making sure the fan knows that these folks are back and not only do they sound like themselves but they’ve got the speed, energy, and deadly enough riffs to put a lot of returned and moldy thrashers to shame. The sharp-turning hardcore punk influenced guitar progressions and twisted-upward transitions between on “Ride the Knife” should be enough to give the exact right impression to any longtime thrash metal fan, these folks don’t just still have the right stuff but they’re doing it with songs worth hearing, not making an appearance as a half-assed brand reprisal. Needless to say I was impressed with the first half of this record in terms of getting a skull’s worth of ashes punted into my face, stoked on the weirding personality of the band being well intact and the songs hitting a high enough bar one after another.

This was a band that’d held their own with late 80’s Sepultura on stage, one who’d been pushed in zines as the next level beyond the blazing speed of Dark Angel. — Variety and consistency of quality are my two major concerns heading into any classic extreme metal band’s revival these last twenty years and while I can vouch for these being covered here on ‘The Shadow Inside‘ the real consideration is whether or not this album is created to pander or if there is passion to push thier gig anywhere new, or, at least engaging. As we hit upon the punkish death-thrashing civil unrest of “Anarchy” and the crawling late album freakout of “Pain” in Side B no doubt I’ve become fully laser-eyed, crowing with approval as this does sound like the album Sadus might’ve written around the time of the ‘Red‘ demo, still holding some of the groove metal surrealism found on the underrated ‘Elements of Anger‘ while also presenting as an alt-contemporary to a record like ‘Symbolic‘ in some respects. It helps that their work with Juan Urteaga (Trident Studios) feels customized to and well in tune with the signature of the band, allowing for the fidelity to reach a glassy yet raw-edged bite for those shorter shotgunned pieces and points of hifalutin grandeur on more elaborate showings per the exceptional deep cut “No Peace”.

A full listen of ‘The Shadow Inside‘ was initially exciting simply for the fact that I’ve some enduring fandom for Sadus and this sixth album from ’em does in fact sound, act and express as a legitimate entry into their legacy no matter how far removed we are in time from the impact of their early work. Treating the experience with some parity of today, setting aside the reputation of the band and appreciating their mayhemic sound yet well-meaning, wizened personality in modern render I’d found this was a grower as a full listen. The most classic death/thrash riffs were my initial focus before the lyrics and theme of the album began to mature in mind, these things combined didn’t one hundred percent make up for the lack of pronounced bass guitar presence on the album nor did it reprise the teenaged high-rate stabbing of their late 80’s beginnings yet I’d not found this lacking as a release that’d tastefully reprised the Sadus experience. The hope is that they’ll be received with enough enthusiasm to keep going since, (again) they’ve still got the knack and the sense of self to keep entertaining the old and new death and thrash heads still around today. A very high recommendation.

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