Sammath – Triumph in Hatred
In the early days of Death Metal, the Netherlands was one of the countries that dominated. Throughout the subsequent growth of Black Metal in Europe, Dutch bands haven’t played such a leading role, but one band who are working hard to restore their country’s former glory is Sammath.
From start to finish, Triumph in Hatred blasts out seven tracks of fast, highly intense Black Metal with old Thrash and Death Metal influences. Sounds like a familiar idea? Well, as the old saying goes, “the Devil is in the details” – and it’s the details that Sammath have nailed on this release.
Within the first minute or so, the opening track, ‘Blood’, introduces all the key elements of the album: a brutal storm of hard, blasting drums… rapid, intense, complex riffing with harmonised rhythm and lead… dirty, rasping vocals… then, all of a sudden a full-on, epic guitar solo tears through the wall of sound – in a style reminiscent of solos on old Obituary, Death or Nocturnus albums. It’s an unusual and well-executed idea that contrasts well with the harsh, brutal sound – and is used to good effect throughout the rest of the album.
The aggressive riffing and soloing always take centre stage – reinforced by the powerful drumming, which is very clear in the mix. The rhythm guitars sound full and dense, but not too clean – they retain a solid grittiness despite the overall clarity of the production.
Except for a very short bass intro on the last track, the basslines seem to follow the guitars rather than contribute any memorable moments of their own, but there’s already enough going on so that’s not really a problem.
The coarse, rasping vocal style fits well with the overall sound. More variation and emphasis on the vocals would have added another dimension, so it’s a good thing that the powerful guitars and drumming command so much of the listener’s attention.
The mood is suffocatingly dark and hostile. Tracks such as ‘Blood’, ‘Burn in the Fires of Hell’ and ‘Blazing Storm of Steel’ stand out as examples of Sammath’s passion for blackened brutality. Another memorable track is ‘Interlude Torment’, the only track in which a central melody is the main recurring feature. Generally, melodies are used with restraint, so that each song remains unpredictable yet interesting.
The ‘old school’ death/thrash metal guitar soloing takes Sammath’s sound to a whole new level, which I think was what frontman Jan (guitars/bass/vocals) intended when he brought in solo guitarist Magnus Agliareth.
Building on their previous work, Sammath have increased both the intensity and quality of their music, and added refreshing new ideas – but above all have created an album which injects a brutal dose of METAL into Black Metal.
I only recently discovered Rahu, who purvey original and very replayable Finish Black Metal of the highest calibre. This is a demo from 2008 that has since been released as part of a best of featuring this and their other demo on one CD.
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You described it right stug..”brutal dose of METAL into Black Metal.” With the rapid drum blast and dirty vocals increases the intensity which keeps me moving.Great pick.
Check this out. It says “The mood is suffocatingly dark and hostile. – Hell Furnace” on the main album image at Sammath’s Myspace page.
Glad they liked our description