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Japan's Sabbat has been around since the mid-80s and 2000's Satanasword is their seventh full-length album. They play the kind of punk-infused black/thrash metal that was inspired by Venom and has been enjoying a huge revival the past several years. If it weren't for the fact that this album is 21 years old (as of this writing), you could easily think it was something more modern, but Sabbat were happily bashing away back when black/thrash was more marginalized. The energy on Satanasword is electric and I can imagine Sabbat must rip their fans' heads off live. Songs like "Charisma" and "Kiss of Lilleth" are savagely entertaining. Singer Gezol employs a couple of vocal styles, one a growly, Cronos-like shout, the other, a high-pitched shriek that is somewhere between Dan Beehler and Elmo from Sesame Street going backward through a meat grinder. It's this latter vocal style that makes songs like "Death Zone" and "The Gate" grate on my eardrums. Some people probably like them, but I find it unlistenable. Musically, Satanasword is satisfyingly thrashy with a bit of punk/crossover appeal and Sabbat just let the music flow, unconcerned with technical precision, which is not meant to be a dig; there's room for both approaches.

I like Satanasword, other than some of the vocals, but it doesn't blow me away. If you are into Toxic Holocaust, Gama Bomb, Barbatos and the like, you should find it entertaining.