SABBAT - Mourning Has Broken

When the Internet was still in its “what’s that” phase, so a music-loving person would have to travel the shops, markets and the shelves of his friends for cassettes, vinyl records and tapes, I and others of my age used to be bohemian and... to put it briefly, young and stupid. Next to no pocket money, we had to ration it for vodka and for cassettes and for tobacco and, for whomever did that, for condoms, if you’ll excuse me.

So, when I got my hands on the aforementioned cassette, I quickly stuck it into the player – it had to be really good, because Sabbat (I’m speaking of the Brits, let’s get real, who pays any attention to their Nippon namesakes?) had a cool logo, were British, and apparently I had seen a picture of them in some Bravo magazine (really!) in a heroic fantasy pose that knocked me over. Much to my confusion, when I first listened to it, the album didn’t really do it for me. But, as I said, not having much money, the rule was “listen to it until you like it!! No negotiating!”. So – around the fourth listen I was already crazy about this album, so indeed the mourning had been broken.

Looking back in anger (I’ll explain why in no time), I can only see this album as a small jewel of technical thrash, and I would place it on equal footing with a “Coma of Souls” or “Agent Orange” any time; unless it stuck to my heart so badly I can’t see where I’m stepping. The songs are finely crafted, the lyrics speak about various existential thingies, or the Bermuda Triangle … but then, who listens to thrash metal for lyrics? Plus it ends with a particularly awesome ballad. But not of the slow-dancing-with-chicks kind. 

Speaking of anger and looking back. Not that much back, but on Sabbat’s official site. Mourning Has Broken is the band’s third album, released when the great Martin Walkyier had already left to a different kettle of fish than the thrash metal of the first two Sabbat albums. As in the Albion front man wandering is more than a fashion (it is practically an established practice) (see Dickinson, Halford), Robin Hood Walkyier went to sing folk metals with Skyclad, and, a few years later, when he was reunited with Sabbat, it was found that “Mourning Has Broken” „is not appropriate”, so after all sorts of ridiculous reasoning (including Wikipedia), the guys not only stopped mentioning the title in their official discography and stopped re-releasing it, as they did the other albums, they truly denied it in loathing and horror. 

By the way, the voice of Richie Desmond on Mourning Has Broken is quite fine, while a bit atypical for what we call thrash metal. Perhaps even annoyingly good for the barking vocals of the previous and in fact also the next vocalist. Well, I’ve already spewed too much vitriol, I know I’m getting too subjective so I’d better shut the hell up.

Cristake Nota: 9.5