ALBUM REVIEW: Sadokist – Necrodual Dimension Funeral Storms

Here I review the brand new 2nd full album of Finnish Blackened Death Metal tyrants SADOKIST! Set for release via Hells Headbangers on August 30th.

Drawing in on tranquil ocean sampling and disturbingly ambient piano that fades into the sweeping atmosphere, this record starts with a mood being set, somewhere between peacefulness and dread. The ferocity of buzzsaw guitars, pounding bass and blasting drums aside maniacal screams quickly descends into chaotic frenzy with some excellently violent Black Metal conjurations spewing a hatefully speedy assault with no respite whatsoever, the band clearly not wanting to waste time, preferring to drive in some fantastically exciting brutality in an abominable onslaught of true old school insanity. Appearances of blistering lead guitars occasionally cut through the barbaric and mutinous assaults but truly the devastating barrages of utter fury from the whole band are what keeps this record pummelling into your skull like a hammer throughout its half an hour existence. The raw production is concise, simple and primitive giving the full edge of the band plenty of room to do their thing, keeping everything audible but with minimalistic compression and mix so as not to dampen the piercing cacophony of darkness. SADOKIST do a marvellous job of throwing in some crushing Death Metal stomping grooves and even ambient synths sparingly while keeping the menacing Black Metal butchery in the foreground. Blow after blow of tormenting vocals and instrumental savagery, emanating with evil spirits like the 90s Black Metal sound has been reborn with a vigorous new hatred. Keeping each song relatively short, snappy and to the point but with plenty of atmospheric nuance, we are given a diverse mixture of influence such as the doomy sections in “Planet Of Shit” coupled with cavernous leads that remind me of Goatlord before we are brought back to ground with plentiful storming blasts of total mayhem. This record takes all the best parts of the European Black Metal bitterness and the pure craziness of South American bands to give a chaotic, blissfully maniacal and utterly ferocious album, driven by unrelenting vitriolic instrumentals and spewing screamed vocals. This is one of those albums that truly feels like a modern version of something archaic and mysterious, something I love about the “old school” resurgence in Extreme Metal that is happening and these guys nail it despite being formed in 2007. A spectrally eerie, punishing and ridiculously extreme release from SADOKIST, wonderfully done. -8.5/10