“Dolph does Focus, who could have seen that coming? Certainly not a ramshackle group of kids in Florida who drank death metal in the wild and jazz fusion in the heat of endless study and rehearsal.” We said FOCUS!
Sadist
Sadist – Firescorched [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]
“Nearly 30 years into their career, Sadist still manages to fly under the radar. For the olde and young who dig through the single-word glossary of 90s tech/prog/weirdo death metal, Sadist falls curiously along the progressive spectrum. True to the Italian horror spirit that Sadist embodies, their work tiptoes the line between abstract and abrasive to unsettling effect, and just plain meandering and ineffective.” Sadistic biscuits, firescorched.
Bekor Qilish – Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism Review
“Consisting of Italian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andrea Bruzzone and company, Bekor Qilish offers its debut Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism. While it toes the line between full-length and EP at twenty-eight minutes, it manages to embody really fun “Voidhanger-core” to a tee.” Avant-guardians.
Sadist – Spellbound Review
“Sadist are a band who have always toed the line between cult classic and second tier. Their progressive death metal has run the gamut between introspective fusion and ham-fisted rhythm, but aside from their excellent debut, Absence of Light, our relationship remains regrettably distant. Now, imagine my intrigue when faced with the Italians’ eighth full-length, Spellbound, a record based on the work of the infinitely influential Alfred Hitchcock. Surely combining my favorite core genre with the oeuvre one of the greatest auteur directors of all time is a recipe for success? Don’t call me Shirley…” Sadism comes in many forms.
Sadist – Hyaena Review
“Sadist have been under the weather for quite some time. Once a respectable prog-death act, they did that thing that metal bands did in the ’90s a tad late and released the awful nu-metal Lego in 2000 to critical and fan disgust, after which they took a seven-year break.” Can these grizzled vets redeem themselves after the horrors of the past?