Sadism – ‘Obscurans’ Album Review

Death Metal

Hammerheart Records

Release Date – November 24^th 2023

Review by Smudge

Chilean death metal legends Sadism have been around since 1988 and amazingly this is only their tenth album, although the band see this as a definite milestone.

They get straight to the point on the opener ‘Exsanguination’ and show what Sadism is all about – old-school death metal. Things get a bit doomy in the intro for ‘On Your Knees’ but it soon kicks up on a chugging riff and double kick rhythm before the absolute chaos of ‘Diabolution’ which goes from rabid death/thrash to groove metal.

Don’t go expecting a stoner/psyche groove out on ‘Lower Astral Entities’, it’s a full-on thrasher that does some serious damage before the huge chug fest of ‘Because We Are Rotten To The Core’ brings the fun and gets the head-banging. ‘Freewill Archangels’ is a nasty piece of raging thrash/death then things get creepy and dark on ‘Ars Goetia’ before things get savage on ‘The Void Devourer’ and that savagery is continued on the pounding ‘Parousia’. ‘Made Of Sulfur’ begins with huge power chords before they settle into a spidery riff and a double-kick marathon. My copy has two bonus cuts – the chaotic and bruising ‘Nyctophile’ and equally bruising ‘When The Christians Lie’

You would think that after 33 years of spleen-busting, ear-splitting metal Sadism would slow down and become more ‘genteel’. Not a chance! This is just as or even more brutal as their previous output. They revel in their pursuit of dark chords, simple brutal roots and profane lyrics—one of their best.

Track List –

1 – Exsanguination

2 – On Your Knees

3 – Diabolution

4 – Lower Astral Entities

5 – Because We Are Rotten To The Core

6 – Freewill Archangels

7 – Ars Goetia

8 – The Void Devourer

9 – Parousia

10 – Made Of Sulfur

11 – Nyctophile (CD Bonus Track)

12 – When The Christians Lie (CD Bonus Track)