Formed by drummer Peso following the initial breakup of
Necrodeath
(indeed, this band was somewhat of a continuation of that band,
and originally the band name was Necrosadist),
Sadist is one of the odder entities in the death metal world.
Often labelled as "technical death metal", it appears that only the
debut, 1993's Above The Light, really fits that description.
1996's Tribe begins the journey into weirdness, featuring
prominent keyboards in ways very rarely associated with death metal,
and while the vocals and some riffing still retain a deathy edge,
it was clear that even at this point these guys were trying to
be different.
By 2000, though, the guys were really starting to explore uncharted
territory, as evidenced by Lego, an album as odd as its name and
cover pic would suggest.
No longer having anything to do with death metal, Lego is an
odd blend of shouted vocals,
angular keyboards, mid-paced sparse riffing,
and a general off-the-wall mentality.
Surely some might welcome something that dared to be different as this,
but older fans didn't like it, the reviews were mixed at best, and as a
result the album was deemed a failure and the band split up.
It would not be until 2005 that the foursome came back together,
finally releasing a new album, entitled simply Sadist,
in 2007, returning to a more conventional prog death metal style.
