Aging like fine wine – review of Sadist’s “Something to Pierce”

There’s no other words to describe the work of this band on this album: aging like fine wine. Sadist is playing since 1991 – with a break up in the early 2000s and a come back in 2005 – and “Something to Pierce” is its tenth album. The Italian progressive death metal band from Genoa came back to the musical scene the album “Firescorched” released three years ago, in the 2022. And it’s a great return with two new components Giorgio Piva playing drums and Davide Piccolo playing bass. The hands of the main author Tommy Salamanca (guitar and keyboards) are always inspired. The riff of the title track it’s a completely banger, it goes immediately through your head after the first listen. And the voice of Trevor Nadir never sets, from the deepest growl to the loudest screams.

“Something to Pierce” it’s an album that has nothing new, but anyway it sounds brilliant. You can find all elements to play a good prog death metal album: hard, aggressive, calm, slow, and with horror atmosphere played by keyboards, a Sadist‘s trademark. When you listen a keyboad sounds like that you already know that is a song of the Italian band. If in the first four tracks the heavyness of instruments is the main structure, in the rest of the work there’s room for more experimental songs like tribal rhythms, world music, and even oriental influences as in the nine track “Nove Strade” (in Italian nine streets). “Something to Pierce” it’s dark and obscure, sounds like Sadist.

In conclusion, “Something to Pierce” is the perfect demonstration as a band has to like after years of playing and released albums. Sure it’s not a legendary work, but the research of new sounds, try to experiment new things and the mix of influence of different genres let it show the passion for music of this band. Because is too simple play the same things after decades, but the very big challenge of a band or a musician is to offer the own talent to the listeners at new horizons.