There's usually two schools of thought when it comes to Sadus-one is that they are a highly influential California thrash metal band, who helped pave the way for more technical & aggressive forms of the genre back in the late 1980's. The other is that depite their talents they were a pretty one- dimensional band and somewhat overrated. Say what you will about Sadus, but you can easily see both sides of the coin while listening to this Metal Mind remaster of their debut Chemical Exposure. For sheer speed and ferocity, few bands could compete with Sadus' non-stop barrage of manic riffs, blast beats, and harsh death/thrash vocals. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio should be a familiar name to many, as in addition to the acrobatic four-string work he displays with Sadus, he's also spent time with Death, Testament, Control Denied, Iced Earth, Autopsy, Dragonlord, and others. Drummer Jon Allen is also an amazing player, pummeling the listener with insane blasts of speed, and guitarists Rob Moore and Darren Travis lay down plenty of intense thrash riffs at the speed of light. Tunes like "Certain Death" and "Twisted Face" contain no shortage of crazed solos and dizzying arrangements, with all the players really showcasing their talents. The problem is, almost every track follows a similar frantic pace, and after a while it's tough to distinguish one song from the other. There's not much variety to be had here, as most of the riffs tread similar ground, and Allen's drum work, while excellent, plows ahead at Mach 10 throughout. Also, Travis' vocals are an acquired taste-again a little variety would have made a world of difference. Still, there are some impressive moments, and DiGiorgio's bass skills are worth the price of admission alone, so if you like late 80's speed/thrash/death metal, and don't mind a non-stop, relentless attack, enter into the world of Sadus via Chemical Exposure and prepare to get bludgeoned over, and over, and over again.
Track Listing
1. Certain Death
2. Undead
3. Sadus Attack
4. Torture
5. And Then You Die
6. Hands of Fate
7. Twisted Face
8. Fight or Die
9. Illusions
10. Chemical Exposure
11. Desolator-bonus
12. Torture-bonus
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