You probably haven't heard of Sa-da-kO. This unsigned quintet from North East England, whilst establishing themselves as a solid fixture on the regional touring circuit, have yet to create too much fuss around the country. But with recent radio interviews and airplay and the release of 01, it's only a matter of time until you do.
The most impressive thing about this album is the combination of musical versatility, concepts and quality production. Sa-da-kO, as I understand it, is a Japanese female name - you remember in The Ring when that scary girl crawls out of the telly and makes you shit your kidneys? It's her name. That sense of discomfort and edginess is continued with vocalist Jim, who constantly sounds on the cusp of vocal prolapse but never lets up. Single Red is the obvious choice for radio play as it has the clean breaks that allow Sa-da-kO access to a much broader fan base; think early Atreyu on steroids. But it's a fucking fool who listens to this song alone and dismisses the band as trying to cash in on a popular musical style.
Smother is without doubt one of the most uncomfortable 1min 30secs of my life. The Japanese horror theme continues as this quiet, tinkering interlude does nothing overt, but suggests pure evil. It's Takashi Miike's Audition to Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween. But out of the subtle, suggestive unpleasentness comes frontman Jim on Ju On to prove that if you want gore, you'll get gore.
Ju On shows off Sa-dakO's thrash leanings with chunky chords from sIMo and Deano and a solid pace from skinsman Gregzilla (yes, Gregzilla) and bassist Rob, but there is a spark missing as the album starts to come to an end. Thankfully, final number Name Your God pulls it right back with an Opeth-esque slant to the vocals, and is a genuinely compelling listen.
Sa-da-kO are not going to appeal to everyone; very few bands do. The lack of vocal range from front man Jim may put some people off (not that I've heard George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher hitting any high-Cs recently) and adding a clean vocal to some tracks could limit the appeal to those metallers more set in their ways. But 01 shows such promise that it would be absolutely criminal to ignore it.
It's heavy as fuck, makes you bang your head, and parts of it will scare the shit out of you.
I should have some news and reviews of our own shortly, its been a wwhile since ive been able to get near a computer so hopefully ill update you all soon. till next time....
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