Man, I love this album. Having first heard Sadus through demos in
high school,
I lost track of them after Swallowed in Black (1990). They consistently
put out material on Roadrunner, but to little or no notice of the
metal communtity. Finally, after about 4 years, Sadus return as a trio and
put out what I consider to be their finest work yet. Retaining the icy
presicion and musical chops that they are known for, Elements of Anger also
incorporates quite a bit of added "effects" to produce a real atmospheric
album. The tone switches from all out metal to an almost Kyuss/Sleep feel,
especially on Crutch. This is an important aspect for me, because it
seems as though most albums that come out have exactly the same pace and
sound the entire album. Unless the one paradigm you have is just godly, this
is gonna get boring real quick. Most of the top albums have shifts in the
structure of the album. This allows each track to be differentiated from the
next, and gives the listener a chance to distinguish between tracks. In
this department, Elements of anger is right on target, with expert
songwriting and feel. Steve DiGiorgio, after lending his talents out
to Death for numerous albums, is back in full form, and displays the
prowess that he has come to be revered for. Jon Allen's playing is
impeccable and always tasty, supporting the buzzsaw guitar riffs and
incredible solos. Sadus have a real knack for writing incredibly
technical songs that never patronize or alienate the listener. This
hiatus may have been necessary to produce this opus, but if so, it was
well worth the wait! Highly recommended.
10 out of 10
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