HYAENA

"Hyaena" is the 7th full-length studio album by Italian progressive death metal act Sadist. The album was released through Scarlet Records in October 2015. It's the successor to "Season in Silence" from 2010. Sadist was one of the more prolific technical/progressive death metal acts out of Italy in the early- to mid 90s, but after releasing the NU- metal oriented "Lego (2000)" their star faded and they disbanded. The band reunited in 2005 and released an eponymously titled comeback album in 2007. "Hyaena" is the third album released after Sadist opted to reunite.

Stylistically the music on "Hyaena" is technical/progressive death metal with jazz/fusion influenced sections and a touch a of world music too. Artists like Cynic, Atheist, and Pestilence ("Spheres (1993)") are obvious influences but Sadist aren't clones by any means. The omnipresence of keyboards for example make them a bit different.

The vocals are snarling and aggressive, which suits the music well and the instrumental part of the music is very well performed too. Sadist are obviously very skilled musicians who know how to handle their instruments. Fusion influenced drumming and bass playing, death/thrashy guitar riffs and jazz/fusion influenced guitar solos, and atmosphere enhancing keyboards. It all works very well (and also better than on "Season in Silence (2010)"), but upon conclusion it's not many tracks which stand out (I'd mention "Gadawan Kura" as a standout track), but it's a highly enjoyable release while it plays. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)