Sadus - A Vision of Misery (1992)Release ID: 2981
To think I'd never heard Sadus until a few months ago! Now I'm working my way through one excellent album after another. An evolution that has taken me from the insanely venomous, purely thrash era of Illusions through to this refined, rather progressive metal, that while still thrash, borders on death metal. The main difference between early Sadus and A Vision of Misery is the band here concentrates far more on musicianship and solid song structures, as opposed to pure, aggressive brutality.
As many below have already mentioned, it's Steve DiGiorgio's bass work that really stands out. While only occasionally taking centre stage (the bass isn't overpowering in the production), if you focus on what Steve's doing, it's hard not to be impressed. He’s one of the most talented bass players in metal. I've also always been a fan of Darren Travis' vocals and his malicious performance is awesome once again on this album.
A Vision of Misery is another entertaining album from this underrated American band. I still don't find it as enjoyable as the mind-blowing Illusions with all its youthful aggression, but it's by far Sadus' most accomplished album that I've had the enjoyment of listening to and one I highly recommend anyone into technical thrash metal add to their collection. Metal Mind's remastered, limited to 2000 digipak is the way to go if you can get your hands on it.
Californian thrash metallers Sadus became a pretty big deal for a teenage me after I discovered their 1988 debut album "Illusions" through an Albums Of The Year list that was published by legendary metal record store & promoter Metal For Melbourne some time in 1989. I was only fairly fresh to thrash at the time, having only cottoned onto Metallica in late 1988 through their classic fourth album "...And Justice For All", but my initial dealings with Slayer had seen something raw & primal explode inside of me shortly afterwards & I was now on the lookout for ever more vicious releases. Sadus' "Illusions" certainly ticked that box even if it may have been more of an attempt to emulate Slayer than it was genuine competition for them. 1990's "Swallowed in Black" sophomore album saw Sadus upping the ante on the technicality & creativity at the expense of a little bit of raw intensity & I found that I actually preferred their more complex sound. A muddy guitar tone didn't help their cause but once got word of the release of Sadus' 1992 third album "A Vision Of Misery" I immediately made a visit to the record store to pick up a copy on cassette. Since that time, I've always felt that "A Vision Of Misery" was Sadus' strongest record which doesn't seem to be that common a position amongst fans so I thought I'd give it a more detailed viewing in order to see if those are still my true feelings.
Sadus' third full-length was their most technical to the time with the individual band members all being at the peak of their powers. The rhythm section of fretless bass virtuoso Steve DiGiorgio (Charred Walls of the Damned/Terra Odium/Testament/Artension/Control Denied/Death/Dragonlord/Ephel Duath/James Murphy/Sebastian Bach/Soen/Autopsy) & drummer Jon Allen (Dragonlord/Testament) in particular play an absolute blinder with DiGiorgio confidently reiterating why he's still my favourite metal bass player all of time. The riffs of guitar duo Darren Travis & Rob Moore are very classy, often even hinting at a more progressive approach, while Travis' trademark raspy vocal delivery is as aggressive & screamy as we'd come to expect from him. Bill Metoyer's production job is definitely worth mentioning though as it's a little unusual & seems to have been tailored to highlight the rhythm section with the guitars being a touch less in-your-face than I would have liked. It seems to work though, perhaps on the strength of DiGiorgio's amazing performance alone.
The tracklisting kicks off in stunning fashion with opener "Through the Eyes of Greed" being an outstanding example of the technical thrash metal subgenre. The band weren't done yet though as you'll find a number of other classics scattered across the album. "Machines" & "Echoes of Forever" are utterly brilliant & challenge "Good Rid'nz" from "Swallowed In Black" for Sadus' best work to the time. "Facelift" is also a favourte of mine & when you consider that there are no real lulls on this record you can see why I've awarded it such a high score. As much as I love Sadus' earlier work (including their excellent 1989 "Death To Posers" demo), "A Vision of Misery" simply takes me to another level & I consider it to sit amongst the best couple of releases to come out of the tech thrash subgenre overall. I honestly can't see too many Atheist, Coroner & Ripping Corpse fans not foaming at the mouth over this material so "A Vision of Misery" should be considered to be essential listening for any self-respecting member of The Pit.
It was only last month when I've finally claimed my interest in late 80s thrash, going as early as 1988, which is the release year for Illusions, the debut album by Sadus, a band I started enjoying after reviewing one of their albums, A Vision of Misery (this one). See, I never had any interest in the older proto-extreme thrash metal bands like Exumer and Messiah. Aside from those bands being too old for me at the time, brutality seemed to be quite a norm back then. Technicality and progression has always fascinated me much more, and while Sadus wasn't gonna be completely part of that charade, a few small technical elements mixed with this brutal sound became more appealing to me... Sadus is one of many bands with 80s metal bass hero Steve Di Giorgio. I was never really fully interested in his bands before, but once I listened to this album, I was pleasantly surprised. His bass really adds atmosphere! Also, I found out he's currently down with COVID. Hope he gets well soon... Anyway, back to the album, I've heard it's a more prominent pathway through death-ish thrash metal while keeping a bit of the technical affair of their previous album Swallowed in Black. This elevating combo has results that are quite astonishing!
A Vision of Misery has envisioned a mighty progressive thrash/technical death metal hybrid first planned in the late 80s, shining in the American metal scene along other bands like Atheist and Incubus (the death/thrash metal band later known as Opprobrium, NOT that other Incubus band). It's a shame that this style has faded away so fast due to a loss of its scope, but at least it has influenced death metal bands to later take on a technical/progressive path, like Death when Di Giorgio joined in (RIP Chuck Schuldiner). The other Sadus members, all assist Di Giorgio in this deathly thrash metal apocalyptic ride to fulfill their skillful vision without being lost in misery.
"Through the Eyes of Greed" begins the death/thrash ride of wild passion before patterns of intricate riffs, powerful bass, and vicious leads. It is a speedy progressive crusade helped built by dominant vocals. "Valley of Dry Bones" never gives up moshing through frantic technicality up to its virtuoso end. Sounds like they still have their energy from their first two albums! More prominent complexities would please the listener on "Machines", striking through brilliant technicality, less decipherable than other technical bands like Death at the time. There are fast escapades that aren't as abundant as the intricate riffs and rhythms, making one of the greatest pieces of technical death/thrash metal ever, besides some of Coroner's songs.
"Slaves to Misery" is more of a mid-paced that continues chopping through technicality with heavy guitar rolls and sudden death-ish aggression, while Darren Travis takes his vocals to hysterical heights in a wild race. "Throwing Away the Day" crushes with speedy shredding interrupting elaborate technical puzzles, changing pace while filled with pure chaos. The progressive "Facelift" is probably the most delightful yet serious tech-thrash piece, a dramatic composition that has more of an atmospheric doom vibe with addictive dynamics to keep the bass busy. The second half is when the guitarists amaze everyone with a supreme technical riff vortex before a fast sweep near the end.
"Deceptive Perceptions" has more atmospheric drama with mid-paced delivery, until more furious brutal thrash combat to remind some of Invocator. "Under the Knife" continues the hurricane with loads of death-ish complications beyond any band mentioned in this review so far. Finally, "Echoes of Forever" brings the compelling madness at its end. In a virtuoso showdown of altering tempos, the dueling leads and striking riffs dominate, while the bass has some memorable moments before the grand exit.
And that's it, we made it through all the stops in this glorious creation, A Vision of Misery. It has been a vision for this band to reach the summit without ever giving up. Although there have been bumps of anger hiatuses along the way, those won't stop this incredible band from fulfilling their vision!
Favorites: "Through the Eyes of Greed", "Machines", "Facelift", "Under the Knife", "Echoes of Forever"
