Sadistic Force describe themselves as a blackened speed metal band who hail from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2020 by lead vocalist and guitarist, James Oliver, the band is completed by bassist Blaine Dismukes and drummer Jose Alcaraz. They say combine the subgenres of speed metal, black metal, and thrash metal, yet when I first played this I felt they were also missing out on a somewhat important influence, namely NWOBHM. Some 40 years ago, before the terms of thrash, death or black metal had become widely known there were bands breaking out of the metal scene determined to make themselves widely known. I distinctly remember Raven attempting to define their sound and called it “Athletic Rock”, a term which did not last nearly as long as their own career and their influence on others.
Yes, what we have here is music which in some ways is fairly one-dimensional, and with far less black metal influences than one may think given how they describe their own music. This is mostly thrash, with death tendencies here and there while the NWOBHM movement also had a lot to answer for. Oliver may not be the best singer in the world but he is a wonderful shredder, and I can only imagine they bring I a live musician for gigs as the layered guitars are a incredibly important facet to the music and would be lost if he was the only one playing. There is a naivety within this album which makes it very attractive indeed, and the more one plays this the more there is to get from it, even if that is just a grin which gets ever wider. If you enjoy your music to be fast any heavy, with some diversions here and there, then this may well be for you.
Rating: 7/10
