Artist:Sabulturath
Country: Japan
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Digital Demo
Year: 2025
It’s perhaps not such a crazy assumption that the name of this band sounds a bit like that annoying drunk guy at the concert who keeps shouting in your ear that he thinks “Sepultura” is great. Sabulturath might be hailing from Japan, it’s sole member has Brazilian roots, so a bit of a Sepultura-connection can be made, at least in the meaning of the word. Apart from that, Sabulturath doesn’t sound Brazilian at all, to be honest, or Japanese for that matter.
As a whole, Sabulturath is a bit of a balancing act between European and American Black Metal from the first years of the 00’s. Black Metal that is thoroughly melancholic and rather monotonous, a combination that works well to set a very moody and overall sombre atmosphere. It bears hints of the earlier stages of bands like Forgotten Tomb, Krohm, Xasthur and a bit of those (more or less) contemporary icy bands such as Bekëth Nexëhmü, Mystik, Gnipahålan and Paysage d’Hiver. Even when it doesn’t sound all that original, there’s no direct comparison, it just exudes a similar wintery vibe that is actually strangely appealing. Strange in the sense that there’s not all that much happening with lots of repeating patterns, but the chord progressions and the changes in pace do make ‘Demo MMXXV’ more than an interesting listen. The eerie melodies that linger through each of the songs also deserve a separate mention, as they do add much to the wistful mood of this 20-minute demo.
That mournful and bleak ambience also means that this is a demo that is best experienced in its entirety, but there is no doubt that this is a more than solid debut demo that definitely calls for a follow-up.
