Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
One day in the future, we will look up the word “underground” in a dictionary, and what will we find? “See: SADISTIC INTENT”. The Cortez brothers are the driving force behind this band for 27 (in words: twenty-seven!) years now, SADISTIC INTENT never went on hold, and still this band has not one official full length album in their vita. Instead, the discography of this Californian institution lists no less than five EPs (7” and 12”), and two official compilations with the stuff from their probably best known EPs, “Resurrection” (1994) and “Ancient Black Earth” (1997). Their latest offering, a meanwhile pretty rare 7” entitled “Morbid Faith”, dates back to the year 2002. During the last twelve years, SADISTIC INTENT weren’t too busy, they only rose attention with the whole band joining the resurrected POSSESSED in 2007 to support Jeff Becerra. But this engagement ended four years ago and the Cortez brothers (Bay on bass and vocals, Rick on guitars), along with second guitar player Ernesto Bueno and the new drummer Arthur Mendiola concentrate on SADISTIC INTENT only. So, will the most long expected debut album will finally see the dark of day? As a kind of appetizer, the band unleashes another EP called “Reawakening Horrid Thoughts”. Well, do SADISTIC INTENT really need to whet somebody’s appetite? Anyway, there’s also music on “Reawakening Horrid Thoughts”, not only a history to talk about. The EP is armed with two SADISTIC INTENT songs that up to now are unreleased on their records. ‘Malignant Spirits’ is fairly new, originally written for a new POSSESSED release, and presented here with new lyrics. And it would have fitted well to the release it was intended for, yet it either works out very well as another fine SADISTIC INTENT song. The other new one is in fact very old, since ‘Horrid Thoughts’ was originally released on a rehearsal tape in 1988, but wasn’t recorded properly before this re-worked version. Sounds like the “good old days” nevertheless. So, I can state that there’s nothing new on the Californian front. SADISTIC INTENT are still what they always have been: a fine band that preserves the first wave of Death Metal, with its Thrash roots and the charming simplicity that goes straight between the jaws. The production is how it has to be: raw, brutish and dense. Uhm, wait… There’s a third song on “Reawakening Horrid Thoughts”, not to be forgotten. Again SADISTIC INTENT picked up their little tradition of covering songs by influential bands. So, we have a very unique version of ‘Fuck Off And Die’ from DARKTHRONE. But this originally rather punkish song received a full SADISTIC INTENT treatment, which means an extra instrumental intro part, a complete Death Metal tuning and rawer vocals. Very well done. And as the statement it was intended to be, a dedication to bootleggers, it works out damn good. After this, I hope that the announced full SADISTIC INTENT album won’t become the Death Metal answer to “Chinese Democracy” and gets unleashed very soon! Until that day, check: www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, or visit the label responsible for “Reawakening Horrid Thoughts”: www.iron-pegasus.com
Thomas Meyer
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
As one of the most beloved underground Death Metal bands, there’s really no such thing as an unremarkable SADISTIC INTENT release. It starts with an intro similar to ‘Resurrection’ and ‘A Mass For Tortured Souls’, which you can find on the "Ancient Black Earth" compilation. This song ‘Malignant Spirits’, according to the liner notes, was originally intended for a new POSSESSED release. The band has played this song live for at least a year now and I believe it was originally entitled ‘Demonic Immortality’ but was obviously changed for some reason. But, trivia aside, this is pure SADISTIC INTENT: obscure 80s Death Metal riffs with, as mentioned, a POSSESSED influence. Bay Cortez’s vocals sound a little more phlegm-laden than before but he sounds great, charged up and full of venom. ‘Horrid Thoughts’ is an old SADISTIC INTENT song re-worked for this release. How far back it goes I’m not sure but it sounds like it was cooking around for a while. It’s a mid-paced song with a couple of really cool open parts where the drums beat and a gnarly bass line kicks in for a few bars. Makes for a Punk kind of vibe. Given that they started in the late 80s as a Punk band called SCUM there’s probably a good few songs like this lurking in the shadows somewhere. Lastly, there’s a cover of DARKTHRONE’s ‘Fuck Off And Die’ from their album of the same name. Covers don’t always please the crowds but they are interesting to see. It clues you into what influences a band has and promotes the band which is being covered as well (not that DARKTHRONE needs it). It’s a faithful rendition apart from the guitar solo at the end. And I’m sure not everyone will appreciate it being that it’s a cover song but nevertheless this is a great new EP by one of America’s best Death Metal bands, not something to idly pass by. Sure we all wish there were more songs but any new SADISTIC INTENT is a good thing. Support! www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Nathan Shapiro
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
The slowest working band in the world perhaps, the American Death Metal legends from Los Angeles, is finally ready with a new release, a thing that the hordes of fans of SADISTIC INTENT has been waiting for, for years and years. The last new recording was from 2002, the 7" EP "Morbid Faith" also released by Iron Pegasus Records, the label behind this release as well. We had "Ancient Black Earth" in 2007, though that was a compilation of the band’s previous released material, which of course are quite hard to get hold of, as the band has been going since 1987, and so far only has relased demos and EPs, and a couple of releases that sums those recordings up. When the two men behind SADISTIC INTENT, Rick and Bay Cortez, aren’t busy with writing and recording new material, they are operating their music shop in Los Angeles, Dark Realm Records, they have under that moniker also released a few Metal goodies during the years (first as Gothic Records, and then later Dark Realm), the two were also a part of the rewamped POSSESSED a few years ago, and the new track on this release ‘Malignant Spirits’ was also originally written for POSSESSED, though ended up being recorded and released as hellish dark Death Metal. This 12" EP consists of three tracks, the already mentioned ‘Malignant Spirits’, ‘Horrid Thoughts’ which first saw the light of day on the band’s first release "Rehearsal ’88", here in a re-worked and re-recorded version, and then a cover version of everyones favorite Norwegian Black Metallers, DARKTHRONE’s ‘Fuck Off And Die’, quite a surprising choice was my first thought, though after the first spin, it actually gives meaning. The first track is quite calm, with a doomy edge and some nice guitar leads, and the right crunchy raw garage sound that SADISTIC INTENT is known for. This is raw Death Metal from back then, when it all was about leverage and darkness. There is a nice thrashy edge to the track, the atmosphere the guys pull off is quite amazing, with this raw and intense Metal attack in mind. The reanimation of ‘Horrid Thoughts’ is also quite well done, classic SADISTIC INTENT, quite naturally, a heavy and wellweighted track, evil riffing, a blend of vintage midpace and a few blasts, and splendid lead work and the puked growl just works fine in this context, and actually brings me right back with ”Season Of The Dead” from NECROPHAGIA, nostalgia when it’s best. The atmopshere is kept and the track is still alive and kicking. ‘Fuck Off And Die’ fits the idea of SADISTIC INTENT quite well, the guys have always had the punky ‘we don’t give a fuck attitude’ that the DARKTHRONE track reeks of, and they pull it off quite well, they don’t twist it much, though it sounds more like SADISTIC INTENT than DARKTHRONE due to the vocals. Both versions kick some serious ass, though I do prefer Fenriz’ vocal assault, and as a sidenote, the recording of the track is a salute to all the bootleggers around. SADISTIC INTENT has inspired countless of bands, and have a solid gathering of rabid followers, they might not have released a lot of material, considering the years they have been going, though the releases together with all their legendary live performances (just do a quick search on Youtube and delwe into them), makes this band more than a Death Metal stable and legend. Though when do we get that infamous and much talked about debut album "The Second Coming" from the guys? It must have been in the works for quite some years, or well, decades now, I do for one look forward to it, I love getting new music, but well, I can become satisfied with all their old dusty releases, they have been doing some good tunes during the ages, and the excitement now when they are ready to release a little piece of new meat is enormous, though a few more releases please, you must have some tunes ready to record Rick and Bay, and by the way, none of you is getting younger, you better get it outhere ;). Until "The Second Coming" is ready and the next release in line, a split with the just as legendary Dutch PENTACLE is being released, the three tracks on "Reawakening Horrid Thoughts" are a splendid way to kill some time with a raw thrashy SADISTIC INTENT that is a tad more raw and punky than ever, without letting the deeds they have picked up during time be, not all bad, not all bad. Visit the ancient black earth: www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Anders Peter Jørgensen
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
NECROVORE’s debut full length album is available on vinyl, buy now or cry later!!!!!!!!! Well, not really. For many people, though, the news about a release that features SADISTIC INTENT’s recordings are almost equally exciting. On the other hand, when the promo info sheet presents a cover artwork that has the face from the Resurrection EP used again and the 3 tracks appear to be a song that was supposed to be a POSSESSED track, a re-worked SADISTIC INTENT song that appeared on their debut demo tape and a cover (DARKTHRONE’s ‘Fuck Off And Die’) – it’s probably better to lower the expectations. If this doesn’t make a first impression of a damn lazy release, then what does? Production-wise, it does sound kinda lazy. It’s raw and has a cool live atmosphere, but if this band had such a massive sound as they did on "Resurrection" already 20 years ago, it would probably be fair to ask for something equally massive nowadays. Well, at least there are no annoying, clicky sounding and utterly pointless double bass parts here. ‘Malignant Spirits’ is a savage thrashy Death Metal tune that would not sound out of place if it was released under the POSSESSED banner and ‘Horrid Thoughts’ sounds as dark as a SADISTIC INTENT can get. ‘Fuck Off And Die’ is also quite a successful cover, because SADISTIC INTENT literally turned this song into their own. It has an introduction and some twisted solos that are not a part of the original song. This cover really has a typical SADISTIC INTENT vibe. So yes, this is really not a bad release. Most of the fans of this band will probably be rather satisfied with it. It will be released as a 12" and the 500 or 1000 copies will sell out, even if they are all pressed on black vinyl. But is this really everything this band is able to offer at this point? After so many years without no studio recordings, it would not be too much to ask for something longer and better produced. www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Sergei Pismeny
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
Twenty-seven years ago, a bunch of kids came together to form a band and play brutal Metal music in the sunny state of California. The rest is history. The Cortez brothers managed to stay underground over nearly three decades, as they never released anything on a popular lable or made any compromises in their musical direction. I was curious to hear, if their past intervention in POSSESSED made them hungry for more attention of the public scene for their main band SADISTIC INTENT. But fortunately they still do not care for any trends and bigger attention and present another killer underground release, which really deserves to be called old school. These three tracks really sound old school as fuck. No trends, no compromises. After the first tunes, the brothers take us back on a journey back to the 80s, when POSSESSED, MANTAS / DEATH, MORBID ANGEL and XECUTIONER made their first musical steps. Even though the first track ‘Malignant Spirits’ was supposed to be for POSSESSED and has finally been re-done for this special release, this is what SADISTIC INTENT stands for: brutal and raw old school Death Metal. The opening sequence is typical for both bands, before the uncompromising Death Metal thunderstorm starts. Old school drumming, grim vocals and raw guitars really make this opener very enjoyable. The second track ‘Horrid Thoughts’ is an old track, also re-worked for this release, also brutal and old school sounding. The third track ‘Fuck Off And Die’ is a well done cover and their small homage to the mighty DARKTHRONE. All in all a very well-made release and maybe there is some hope for a full length release once. www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Michael Kujawska
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
When Frank offered me this review, I was skeptical. SADISTIC INTENT are, for me and quite some other lunatics all over the globe, the epitome, the quintessence, the incarnation of Death Metal. If ever a band earned the title "cult", then SADISTIC INTENT. So I was worried about me not being neutral. What could I write about a band that has been one of my all-time favorite outfits for the last 20 years? But I must admit – this release leaves me a little bit undecided. During the past months there have been many traditional and genuine Death Metal releases, both by older and newer bands. And having this in mind, the "Reawakening Horrid Thoughts" 12" EP can not compete with those releases. Ok, I guess the Cortez brothers Bay and Rick never meant to compete with anyone and if you are die hard follower you will have this release already on your wishlist, no matter what the music might sound like. But just three songs are rather poor in a time when excellent full-length albums are released at frequent intervals worldwide. This output is going to be released as a 12" etched vinyl EP. So rather a collectors item for all the die hard fans. The first song ‘Malignant Spirits’ was written originally for POSSESSED during the time (2007 – 2010) when the Cortez brothers and guitarist Ernesto Bueno were part of the POSSESSED line-up. But after their ways parted SADISTIC INTENT decided to change the lyrics (originally written by Jeff Becerra) and release this song under the monicker of SADISTIC INTENT. Since the music was completely written by Rick Cortez and never got released as a POSSESSED song this course of action is absolutely acceptable. The song is a characteristically one for SADISTIC INTENT and POSSESSED during the "Seven Churches" and "Beyond The Gates" era. Short intro, fast played mix of Death and Thrash Metal, double bass drumming, mosh part with soloing, at the end speeding up again. The second one is an old SADISTIC INTENT track, originally featured on the rehearsal tape from 1988. It starts with drums and bass only, reminding me of ‘Ausgebombt’ by SODOM. Mid-tempo paced, the riffs tending more into the CELTIC FROST / HELLHAMMER direction. Both songs are really killer tunes, my only wish is a full-length by SADISTIC INTENT with such songs. Third and last one is a cover of ‘Fuck Off And Die’ by DARKTHRONE. And – it is the weakest song in the history of SADISTIC INTENT. The original benefits from the clean and punchy vocals plus the very special sound. When DARKTHRONE started to record music influenced by eighties Metal ("The Cult Is Alive", 2006 and "F.O.A.D.", 2007) they experimented a lot, for example using the drum micro to record the vocals and similar gadgetry. SADISTIC INTENT recorded a Death Metal version of ‘Fuck Off And Die’ but it does not work for me. Usually the difference between a cover song and the original is the interesting point, but in this case it is just drippy one by one copy. All in all two great Death Metal songs plus a mediocre cover song. But like I mentioned above, there are many bands releasing great Death Metal albums (and not just two songs!) at the moment. At the end of the day SADISTIC INTENT have nothing to prove, for sure. But if you are not already a worshiper this EP is not going to make you one. www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Mirco Szymyslik
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
New songs by SADISTIC INTENT, well it’s f**king hard to believe! Thus my anticipation as any proper Death Metal maniac’s ought to be, is naturally very high. The EP contains: ‘Malignant Spirits’, consisting of music originally written for POSSESSED and expanded with new lyrics and a nice little intro referring to the classic opening of "Resurrection" (1994), a reworked tune going back to the band’s late 80s rehearsals with ‘Horrid Thoughts’ (killer atmospheric middle section! 100% SADISTIC INTENT) and a cover of DARKTHRONE’s ‘Fuck Off And Die’. While I find the latter rather forgettable as I would have preferred another own song, the two SADISTIC INTENT tunes sound like goddamn proper ancient Death Metal glory between MORBID ANGEL and POSSESSED, just as one expects and deserves from this "beyond slow" Californian legend. The only downside to me is the demo quality sound since it comes across sloppy, careless and simply not as insanely powerful and rousing as the ’94 or ’97 EPs. I’m sure this will sell out in no time still yet I feel this band is testing their dedicated fanbase’s patience once again! www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Stefan Franke
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
SADISTIC INTENT chose to cover a song from DARKTHRONE’s tongue-in-cheek Party Metal era? Arrrggh! Why not do ‘Triumphant Gleam’ instead? This is my only aggravation about the L.A. band’s latest output. Any fan of this band has to take new music when he can get it, right? The first track is my favorite. ‘Malignant Spirits’ is oozing "Seven Churches", and its main riff continuously beats you over the head much like the POSSESSED track SADISTIC INTENT did, ‘The Exorcist’. Bay’s voice during the middle part is so strangled I thought he had an effect on it. Killer. ‘Horrid Thoughts’, track 2, is a song I understand to be re-done from their ’88 demo? Anyway, this is also good stuff, starting with a D-Beat / floor tom rhythm, veering into steamrolling CELTIC FROST riffage, followed by one of those layered 1985 SLAYER portions that SADISTIC INTENT does so damn well. As a side note, if you’re as much of a junkie of this band as I am, be sure to search youtube for more unreleased new stuff (done at live gigs of course): ‘Numbered With The Dead’ and ‘Invocation Of Blasphemy’. These, I presume, will be on their forthcoming (yikes) long player… More at: www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Dick Osmond
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
I have to start this review by telling you that SADISTIC INTENT is a very, very special band for me and definitely one of the best and most important Death Metal bands of all times. Their live performances are so fucking over the top and their magnum opus the "Ancient Black Earth" MCD is one of the best Death Metal releases ever!!! I guess you can imagine how excited I was when I found out about this new release. But after listening to it again and again and again and again I’m completely confused; I don’t know what the meaning of this release is. Maybe this is meant to be a tribute to their very early demo / rehearsal days… if so, they might have succeeded in creating a rehearsal tape sound. If that was not the band’s intention then I really hope they will choose another studio for all future recordings because the sound is so fucking lame… especially the drum sound is really poor. Unfortunately the sound is not the only problem I have with "Reawakening Horrid Thoughts". Bay’s charismatic voice is perfect for dark sadistic Death Metal so why the hell did they use vocal effects on this recording???? And I also have to complain about the compositions, the three songs are alarmingly weak. The first one ‘Malignant Spirits’ was originally written for POSSESSED (if you don’t know: SADISTIC INTENT were Jeff Becerra’s backing band for a while) and this might be a proper composition for POSSESSED 2014 but it is not a proper SADISTIC INTENT song. The songs they composed for SADISTIC INTENT are way more sophisticated, way more intense, way more atmospheric… and just 100times better. The second song is called ‘Horrid Thoughts’ and was originally released on the band’s first sign of life, the 1988 rehearsal demo tape. This is a rather raw composition compared to masterpieces such as ‘Funerals Obscure’ or ‘Ancient Black Earth’ but this is the only song with the proper SADISTIC INTENT feeling and it is surely the highlight on this release. The third track ‘Fuck Off And Die’ is the worst in my humble opinion… that punkish DARKTHRONE song definitely doesn’t fit to a dark Death Metal band!!! Okay, I’m sure SADISTIC INTENT just made this song suck less than the original version but it still is a shitty song. Let’s sum it up: even for a die hard fan such as myself this is nothing more than a "mediocre" release but if you’ll ask yourself if you should buy this or not the only possible answer is: OF COURSE!!! Why? Because this is SADISTIC INTENT – and therefore this is a must have and probably still better than most of those wannabe Death Metal bands!!! www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Hacker
Reawakening Horrid Thoughts
(Iron Pegasus Records)
16:17min
I never expected that I would ever use the words "disappointing" and SADISTIC INTENT in one sentence together! But when it comes to "Reawakening Horrid Thoughts" I simply have to. And believe me: it really hurts! But let’s start from the beginning. While the entire Death Metal underground is still awaiting the band’s long overdue (and constantly postponed) debut full length "The Second Coming… Of Darkness" for several years now, California’s Death Metal masters at least managed to record three songs in a proper studio environment recently to feed the growing hunger of their loyal fanbase a little bit. But let’s face the facts: what we get here is by no means the band that we all love so much, because the songs don’t really represent the true SADISTIC INTENT spirit. The uptempo EP opener ‘Malignant Spirits’ was written when Rick and Bay were still part of Jeff Becerra’s new incarnation of POSSESSED, but since it never got recorded, Jeff’s lyrics have completely been re-written and the song is now being used by SADISTIC INTENT. And you hear that. It’s definitely not a bad song, but it sounds a lot more like POSSESSED than SADISTIC INTENT to me and the effect that had been used on the vocals doesn’t do Bay’s killer voice any justice either. Next up is ‘Horrid Thoughts’, a very old SADISTIC INTENT song (it originally appeared on their very first official rehearsal tape from 1988) that got re-worked for this release now. If you’re aware of the big number of amazing tracks these guys have written over the years, I can’t really understand the need to re-use this kinda outdated track nowadays. It simply doesn’t represent SADISTIC INTENT anymore and better should’ve left untouched again. The third and last track on this EP is a cover of DARKTHRONE’s ‘Fuck Off And Die’, which the band already played live a couple of times (same goes for ‘Malignant Spirits’, by the way). Even though I understand their frustration about being bootlegged (‘Fuck Off And Die’ is addressed to those fuckers who did that!), I don’t really understand why they went for such an average DARKTHRONE track (VOIVOD’s ‘Fuck Off And Die’ would just have been one of the few better options in my humble opinion). On top of all that you have a really weak sounding production, that doesn’t help the material either. To me it all sounds pretty much unfinished and more like a SADISTIC INTENT rehearsal than a proper studio recording. To those of you who already experienced the band live, let me tell you that they have a way better sound on stage than on this EP here. So, like I already said in the beginning of this review: it really hurts me a lot to write all this, because I know for sure that they can definitely do way better than this! Just remember that we’re talking about SADISTIC INTENT here, a band that already brought us such eternal classics as ‘Morbid Faith’, ‘Ancient Black Earth’, ‘Conflict Within’, ‘Funerals Obscure’ or ‘Eternal Darkness’ (to name just a few of them), or killer cover songs from POSSESSED, SLAYER or CELTIC FROST. Same goes for the production (just listen to their "Ancient Black Earth" EP or their contribution to the CELTIC FROST tribute, which both sounded perfect to me). So, let’s just file this EP under "experiments" and hope for the expected real killer full length in the not too distant future. More information at www.facebook.com/pages/sadistic-intent/1477326789178713, www.iron-pegasus.com
Frank Stöver
• SADISTIC INTENT - Morbid Faith (Frank Stöver)
• SADISTIC INTENT - Resurrection Of The Black Earth (Frank Stöver)
• SADISTIC INTENT - Interview (Steven Willems)
• SADISTIC INTENT - Interview (Steven Willems)