Artist: Sad
Country: Greece
Label: Purity Through Fire
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
This year marks the twentieth anniversary for Sad, and what better way to celebrate that than with a brand new album. But while ‘Fullmoon’s Bestial Awakening’ is the band’s ninth album, in addition of an impressive amount of EP’s, split releases and whatnot and their cooperation with some (once) respected labels such as Drakkar Records, Obscure Abhorrence Records and Regimental Records, Sad has never been a band that was on everybody’s tongue. I once thought that this might have something to do with the fact that Sad is definitely by no means a typical Greek Black Metal band, which is more or less what people expect from a band from the same country of Varathron, Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Septicflesh, etc., the Nocternity-syndrom.
But, regardless of whether they were getting any recognition or what people might expect from them, Sad has always been persistent in pursuing their own path. That alone is something to respect. But, besides being a stoic and pig-headed band that clearly choses their own game, Sad has been able to pull off some solid Black Metal as well.
Nordic Black Metal, that is. No warm and sultry riffing and melodies, but the exact opposite. Sad has way more in common with the Second Wave Black Metal from Scandinavia and the USA than anything else. Like most of the band’s previous recordings, ‘Fullmoon’s Bestial Awakening’ is a riff-driven album where the atmosphere is mainly set by the incantatory riffs and somewhat melancholic melodies. Yet, while the basics might be all similar to many of their northern European peers, Sad’s take on the genre is just a little more basic. As a whole, the melodies and riffs are simple and straight forward. In a way they are effective, but the thing is, there’s not a whole lot that really sticks. The music, altogether, quickly fades away and starts leading a somewhat anonymous existence as background music. Lot of that is to blame on the total playing time that almost hits the 60-minute mark, which is simply too long for music that is solid but not top notch.
Anyone who has heard the band’s previous recordings will probably agree that Sad is better suited to shorter players. This album could easily have been 20 minutes shorter, with the best riffs crammed into fewer songs. This is an excellent example of a solid band with solid songs and a solid album, but one that sells itself short by not exercising enough self-censorship. Embrace the “less is more” principle.
So, after nine albums and a plethora of other releases, it is perhaps a fair conclusion that it is definitely not only that Nocternity-syndrom that keeps Sad from really advancing. Nevertheless, ‘Fullmoon’s Bestial Awakening’ offers a few good riffs and melodies that are definitely worth listening to, but perhaps not enough to spend your hard-earned money on.
