Sangus – Saevitia EP (2014) Review

When Yell! Magazine asked me if I wanted to review something heavy, I was, of course, inclined to say yes. What I didn’t expect was for me to take an extra day on the review to really let the heaviness sink in. Meet Sangus, an extreme crust black metal band with thrash metal influences littering their decimating riffs. Immediately as Saevita, their latest EP, kicks off one is brought to an understanding of heavy.

Stream and order the digital EP at: sangus.bandcamp.com

Order the 7″ vinyl at: eternaldeath.storenvy.com

Blastbeats accompany most of the progressions across the four (explained later) songs, and boy are they welcomed. The drums drive a majority of this EP with rushes of adrenaline and power. The black metal influences are felt with the high strummed chord progressions. The production has a more raw feel to the sound, allowing the music to exasperate more chaotic tones with frantically paced movements. The speed the band constantly pushes themselves at naturally adds to the panic of the music.

Add on top of everything the wonderful growls and frightening screams that the vocals are approached with, and Saevita makes for a truly heavy listen. The lyrics spit out hateful themes littered with violent overtones. Why I mentioned only four tracks in the previous paragraph is because the last track is a little disappointing, being that it’s just a droning static that transitions back into the first song. It is a great idea, but I wish there had been more substance for the big finale rather than static.

The Verdict:

The Rhode Island band Sangus fulfill their promise of being extremely heavy by adding the right mix of influences together to unleash one beastly sound. Saevita is a great EP, but don't be fooled into thinking that there are five tracks. The drone was kind of understandable with the whole panicked feeling the band wanted to achieve, but I wish there had been more of the awesome metal laced songs like "Live To Kill."