After loaning out their bass player Steve DiGiorgio to Death for an album and tour, it's apparent that the bassist brought back plenty of fire and inspiration to Sadus for their third album A Vision of Misery. Things really seem to come together here for Sadus on this one, as they have toned down the relentless speed quite a bit, beefed up the technicality and brutality, as well as the heavy crunch factor. There's also a darker and more menacing feel to the music here on A Vision of Misery, which probably came along from Chuck Shuldiner's Death camp once DiGiorgio regrouped with his mates here in Sadus. The resulting album is the best yet in the early catalog, a boiling stew pot of quality metal that is more technical death than thrash this time around, and shows their musical skills to be firing on all cylinders.
Recorded in 1992 and produced by the famed Bill Metoyer, A Vision of Misery is a great sounding record that unfortunately came along at a time when grunge was starting to take over the world, and death & thrash metal was falling by the wayside. This is a shame, as there are some powerful tracks on this release, like the behemoth sounds of "Through the Eyes of Greed" (check out the Death influence on this barnburner), and the galloping stomp of the death/thrash ripper "Valley of Dry Bones". Darren Travis' vocals are getting more lethal this go around, as he was obviouly playing close attention to his vocals as well as his guitar playing at this juncture. With his cohort Rob Moore, the two axe-slinger churn out plenty of meaty, technical riffs and blinding solos througout the album-listen to the insane, weaving riff-o-rama on "Machines", supported by Jon Allen's sick drum fills and DiGiorgio's acrobatic bass lines. You get some complex progressive death metal on "Slave to Misery", rip-snortin' thrash on the speedy "Throwing Away the Day", and grueling, grinding, melodic death metal on the excellent "Deceptive Perceptions", a song with plenty of atmosphere and tasty guitar solos. Listen to the band play in unison on the intricate "Echoes of Forever", a perfect example of how this band had matured at this stage in their career. DiGiorgio's bass lines here are simply incredible.
After this album bassist DiGiorgio once again left to play with Death for a while, even giving his notice to Sadus that he was leaving for good this time. After a few years that all changed and he was back in the fold, and Sadus are still cranking out music to this day. If you are new to Sadus, I'd recommend checking this release out first, as it's one of their strongest overall, and the new remaster from Metal Mind gives you a lot of bang for your buck, with full lyrics, demo bonus tracks, and band history.
Track Listing
1. Through the Eyes of Greed
2. Valley of Dry Bones
3. Machines
4. Slave to Misery
5. Throwing Away the Day
6. Facelift
7. Deceptive Perceptions
8. Under the Knife
9. Echoes of Forever
10. Hands of Fate -bonus
11. Number One -bonus
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