Sadistic Force
Midnight Assassin
Goat Throne Records
Released 10/13/2023
6.5/10
SADISTIC FORCE are a three piece Blackened Speed Metal Band formed in 2020 by Guitar/Vocalist James Oliver. They are from AUSTIN, TEXAS. Combining traditional heavy metal with Speed, Black and Thrash Metal.
This album starts with the atmospheric instrumental The Unseen Force which leads straight into the old school thrash riffing frenzy of CORPSEWOOD CURSE which has some good melodies and a great groove riff in it giving the album a good start. The vocals are a mix of Dimmu Borgir / Carcass type. The song definitely has an old school feel about it.
SPEEDING BLACK LEATHER HELL continues in much the same vein but feels disjointed in its structure and riffing. Again it has some nice good riffs and melodies but fails to really grab the attention of this reviewer. MIDNIGHT ASSASSIN has an old school Black Metal style riff to get it going but after a lengthy intro breaks into an old school traditional style riff and when the vocals kick in the vocals nod in a Jeff Walker style with their delivery and phrasing it also has some Motorhead type riffing going on in there too. Whilst the song tries to be interesting it gets a bit too disjointed and can't quite make up it's mind what genre it wants to be.
NUREMBERG NIGHTS continues in much the same way but has a nice Kreator Renewal type riff in the middle of it which I really enjoyed but sadly the rest of the song left me cold. THE BUTCHERS APRON's intro leads into some melodic riffing and some Carcass style guitar harmony parts. The main riff is one of the best on the album and I wish the band had done more with this type of riff throughout the album.
MARKED FOR DEATH showcases what this band are capable of when they hit form. This is my favourite song on the album utilizing a Thrash and Black Metal feel to great effect. CAMPAIGN OF SIN and HOWL OF THE HORDE close out the album on a bit of a low leaving me feeling that with the talented musicians in the band that SADISTIC FORCE still have something to offer on the scene if they build on the best parts of this album.
Meathook Mike, HMS