The name Sadus is widely revered among underground headbangers. Their ’80s demos and debut full length, Illusions (1988), pushed thrash to its furthest limits, unleashing neck-snapping attacks at speeds that would become characteristic of the burgeoning death metal sound. Come the ’90s, they’d explore more ambitious songwriting and advanced instrumentation, proving highly influential on the subsequent development of technical death metal. And then, sometime after that, Sadus would disappear…sort of.
According to the handy, dandy Metal Archives, Sadus has only been inactive between the years of 2015 and 2017, but you wouldn’t know it. Since 2000, live shows and new recordings from this band have been as frequent as a blue moon, and for good reason. Between Testament and a slew of other bands/projects, bassist Steve DiGiorgio has been rather busy, hence why he left the band for good come their initial 2015 split. This leaves founding guitarist/vocalist Darren Travis and drummer Jon Allen to carry on the Sadus legacy with their latest album, The Shadow Inside.
Whereas past Sadus releases have been of a technical disposition, The Shadow Inside sees Sadus return to their early death/thrash roots à la Illusions. The brutality is as prevalent as ever between Allen’s pulverizing double bass drumming and Travis’ unhinged lunatic vocals and savage riffage. These tropes grab us by the throat on cuts like the opening “First Blood”, devastating “Ride the Knife”, and blistering “Anarchy”. The old school Sadus spirit shines on these feral outbursts. Unfortunately, however, any impact these rabid death-thrashers would have are lost thanks to a sterile modern production and one dimensional songwriting, both of which dominate this affair.
Things only get worse when Sadus veers away from their signature high speed sound. Shadow is littered with generic midtempo cuts like “Scorched and Burnt”, “The Devil in Me”, and “Pain”: Meandering slabs of musical nothingness that bear closer resemblance to latter day Slayer than prime Sadus. The riffs (or lack thereof) have all been recycled a zillion times before, reminiscent of countless Nuclear Blast releases of the past decade. The A Vision of Misery era pseudo-technicality of “No Peace” makes for a slightly intriguing detour, before the closing title cut serves as yet another middle of the road modern metal disappointment.
If you took the most violent moments of this album, compiled them into a 4 or 5 song EP, and gave them a production job circa ’88, Shadow would be one of the most exciting releases of 2023. Instead, it’s a stale and sorry affair, bogged down by the evils of 21st century metal. Now I expect this musical half-assery from Metallica and Megadeth. Hell, even the latest Metal Church left me unfulfilled. But this? This just makes me depressed, especially considering all of those other bands have released albums far more consistently than Sadus. For those who haven’t been keeping track, it’s been 17 years since the groove metal inspired Out for Blood (2006). While Shadow is a step up from its predecessor, that’s not saying much, just like the music on here itself.
5 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Dark Angel, Kreator, Slayer