- https://sabotdoom.bandcamp.com/
- Release Date: 06/28/2023
- Engineered and mixed by Earl Studios
Mastered by Audiosiege - Tags: sludge metal, extreme metal, doom metal, downtuned metal, minnesota, st paul
Setup
Pretty sure I discovered Sabot through Rob Hammer’s Doom-centric Facebook page a few years ago. With no idea they were local, I dredged through their songs on the daily for weeks before digging deeper. Upon realizing they hail(ed) from St. Paul, I had to go see them.
Unfortunately, a few days before the gig, the band announced it was their farewell show. To make it even more disappointing, the singer had to back out of the gig due to illness. Either way, the rest of the band leveled the venue with a variety of guest vocalists stepping in. The best of which was Kalot’s singer Chance.
Fresh Meat
The EP opens with the title track that takes off at a frantic pace before slamming on the brakes. Once you peel yourself off the dashboard, the track descends into the downtuned, sludgey heaviness that is Sabot’s trademark sound.
Next up is Spectral, a dark, doom-laden steamroller of brutality. Once that thick foundation of sludge starts to set, the song switches into a mind-bending riff that has the rhythm hammering the listener into the ground. At the same time, the lead guitar rips open the door to some dissonant, atmospheric despair.
Xy, the 4th track, is another highlight to this EP. Launching with a catchy, but appropriately heavy bass line, the band soon follows. Next, it slows down into what might be the soundtrack to depression before picking up and taking off again in a similar manner to the opener. The opening bass line is so catchy, the bass player for one of the opening bands was playing it as their soundcheck at the farewell gig.
The Kill
Sabot brings ultra-heavy, thick rhythms, 10-ton riffs and growls so low they echo up from the deepest depths. This one has been in my daily playlist for over 2 years now and I don’t see it ever stopping.
For those who live for the negatives: It sucks they broke up. Life happens, people change, we all have to prioritize things to survive and hopefully thrive. But, in all that, music – especially killer music – is a vital ingredient for any metalheads life.
Earl Studios and Audiosiege did a fantastic job capturing the ultra-low essence of Sabot. Doom, sludge and death metal bands often have recordings that lose the low end. Not this one.
Final Thoughts
I hope Sabot gets back together. The local scene, and the metal world at large, is better with this band in it.