Review by Rexorcist for Sadus - Swallowed in Black (1990)

Well, I'm one demo and two albums in, and it's becoming quite apparent that Sadus is one of those bands that has to write the same album in order to stay noticed.  And if I'm wrong, you certainly wouldn't know it from this sophomore effort, because Swallowed in Black sounds EXACTLY THE SAME as their debut, Illusions. Well, that's mostly true.  I'm not sure, but something about the bass feels toned down, like it's slightly adjusted but managed to trigger no real effect.  Because it sounds exactly the same, you may be pleased that the riffage and the heaviness are still on point.  This is in fact, Sadus.  But that can only justify so much.  To me, rewriting the same album with very few new techniques is just being lazy.  It's basically saying, "look at what we can STILL do because we're afraid to try anything new."  And the few little things that are new, like the intro to Good Rid'nz, are typically so quickly disposed of that it actually kind of feels insulting.  Thankfully, this doesn't always happen, with the midtro of Images being a good example of incorporating a somewhat slower tempo and a more intriguing yet monotone composition in the mix.  But once again, it still finds its way back to the same generic thrashing.  The album doesn't have a single song that shows the band focusing on a new direction until the six minute Arise which is the 10th out of 11 songs!  As a result, I am much less excited by the riffs and whatnot that were done so well on the first album.  They're fun for the thrash fan in the long run, but they feel mostly like empty shells, especially since the album's longer.  That which I called "face-melting" when reviewing the debut seems less so.  I know this is a thrash classic, is loved by thrash fans and is even bolded on Rateyourmusic, but I'm gonna be "bold" for a minute and say: I got more out of Kenny G's Duotones.