WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200 Sadist. I mean, it is a name that just hits you 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:04.799 right in the face right off the bat, doesn't 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.400 it? Or absolutely. It definitely projects a certain 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.740 image. It feels almost like a warning label on 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:12.320 the record. Yeah, you see that band name on a 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:14.880 festival poster or maybe scrawled on a bathroom 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:17.620 stall at a dive bar somewhere, and your brain 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:21.100 immediately shortcuts to a very specific, very 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:23.980 aggressive place. Right. It screams generic, 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:26.339 brutal metal before you even press play. You 00:00:26.339 --> 00:00:29.649 expect leather. Probably some standard issue 00:00:29.649 --> 00:00:32.250 slasher movie lyrics. Yeah. Exactly. Music that 00:00:32.250 --> 00:00:36.049 is just pure, unadulterated noise. Which is exactly 00:00:36.049 --> 00:00:37.929 what you'd think. It feels like you know exactly 00:00:37.929 --> 00:00:40.509 what you're getting. But, and this is why I absolutely 00:00:40.509 --> 00:00:42.689 love doing these deep dives, if you judge this 00:00:42.689 --> 00:00:46.469 particular book by its cover or its band logo, 00:00:46.710 --> 00:00:50.429 you are going to miss out on one of the strangest... 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:53.420 most technically complex musical journeys in 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:55.240 European history. It really is a journey. We 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:56.840 are definitely not talking about three chords 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.549 and a scream here. No, not at all. We are talking 00:00:59.549 --> 00:01:01.770 about a band that started in Genoa, Italy way 00:01:01.770 --> 00:01:04.909 back in 1991 and has somehow managed to survive 00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:07.969 for over three decades by being absolute musical 00:01:07.969 --> 00:01:10.390 shapeshifters. Shapeshifters is the perfect word 00:01:10.390 --> 00:01:12.230 for them. When we look at the source material 00:01:12.230 --> 00:01:14.530 for today, which, by the way, covers their entire 00:01:14.530 --> 00:01:17.349 discography, all their major lineup changes and 00:01:17.349 --> 00:01:19.890 recent historical data right up to early 2026, 00:01:20.030 --> 00:01:22.609 we are looking at a band that looked at death 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:25.579 metal and decided to... Basically break all the 00:01:25.579 --> 00:01:27.299 rules. Right. Because death metal is usually 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:29.879 about speed, heaviness, just pure aggression. 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:32.680 Exactly. But they decided to smash it together 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.760 with 1970s progressive rock. And then later on, 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.579 they took a weird detour into new metal. Oh, 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:41.579 we have to talk about the new metal era. We will. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.959 And then they got obsessed with. african tribal 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.500 rhythms and then they made an entire album about 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:49.859 alfred hitchcock movies it's a wild ride and 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:52.519 the mission for today's deep dive is simple we 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:55.040 are going to figure out how this band led by 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:57.980 the only constant member the multi -instrumentalist 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:02.120 tommy talamanca navigated 35 years of chaos to 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.780 release their 10th studio album just last year 00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:07.849 We need to unpack the music and those really 00:02:07.849 --> 00:02:10.189 weird decisions. We do. And we definitely need 00:02:10.189 --> 00:02:12.669 to talk about the massive controversy that clouded 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:15.849 their legacy just recently in 2025. But underneath 00:02:15.849 --> 00:02:18.009 all of that, we have to talk about the technical 00:02:18.009 --> 00:02:21.349 precision. That is really the thread that holds 00:02:21.349 --> 00:02:23.550 all these different eras together. It is not 00:02:23.550 --> 00:02:26.710 just noise. It's closer to jazz fusion in terms 00:02:26.710 --> 00:02:28.770 of complexity, just, you know, played with high 00:02:28.770 --> 00:02:31.669 gain distortion. So let's rewind the tape. Let's 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:35.990 go back. We are in Genoa, Italy. It's 1991. Now, 00:02:36.009 --> 00:02:38.370 when I think of 1991 metal, I think of Florida. 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:41.189 Oh, the American scene. Right. I think of Morbid 00:02:41.189 --> 00:02:44.050 Angel, Death, Obituary. The American scene was 00:02:44.050 --> 00:02:47.069 completely exploding. But Italy. Italy had its 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:50.189 own flavor brewing entirely. It did. And you 00:02:50.189 --> 00:02:52.469 have Tommy Talamanca, who plays guitar and keyboards, 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.210 teaming up with a drummer named Marco Pesenti. 00:02:55.370 --> 00:02:57.770 Better known as Peso, right? Right. Peso. And 00:02:57.770 --> 00:03:00.050 Peso was already a known quantity in the underground 00:03:00.050 --> 00:03:02.090 because he had just left the band Necrodeath. 00:03:02.430 --> 00:03:04.789 to start this new project. Which was a big deal. 00:03:04.969 --> 00:03:07.669 It was a massive deal locally. NecroDeath was 00:03:07.669 --> 00:03:10.569 a cult band. Very raw, very thrashy. So when 00:03:10.569 --> 00:03:12.789 he teamed up with Talamanka, the local scene 00:03:12.789 --> 00:03:15.909 was basically expecting NecroDeath Part 2. They 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:20.250 wanted fast, angry thrash. Exactly. But Talamanka 00:03:20.250 --> 00:03:22.539 had a completely different vision. He wasn't 00:03:22.539 --> 00:03:24.960 interested in just playing fast. He wanted to 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.840 mix the brutality of death metal with the complexity 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.740 of progressive rock and the aggression of thrash 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:33.419 metal. Which, on paper, sounds like a train wreck 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:35.439 waiting to happen. It really does. Sounds like 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.159 mixing oil and water. But they make it work. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.120 They grab a bassist, Andy Marcini, and a vocalist, 00:03:41.219 --> 00:03:43.340 Fabio Bocchitti, and they just start hustling. 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:45.800 They record a demo, they get signed to a small 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:48.699 indie label called Obscure Plasma Records, and 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:52.500 they drop their debut EP, Black Screams, in 1991. 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:55.120 And that EP is significant because it established 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:57.360 their blueprint immediately. It wasn't just heavy, 00:03:57.460 --> 00:03:59.360 it had texture. Yeah, texture is a great way 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.099 to put it. And that texture got them noticed. 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:04.159 By 1993, they secured a two -album deal with 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:06.780 Nosferatu Records and released their first full 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:09.659 -length, Above the Medecan. And looking at the 00:04:09.659 --> 00:04:12.280 touring schedule from that era, you can really 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:14.060 tell they were hungry. They weren't just staying 00:04:14.060 --> 00:04:16.379 in Italy, eating pasta and jamming in the garage 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:18.259 on weekends. They were grinding. They were on 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:20.079 the road constantly. Yeah, they were touring 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.420 France, the Netherlands, and they were landing 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:25.740 some serious support slots. We are talking about 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.180 opening for Carcass during the Heartwork Tour 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:32.420 in 1994. That is a huge endorsement. It's massive. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.060 For context for the listener, Carcass in 1994 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:39.860 was untouchable. Their album Heartwork is widely 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:42.120 considered one of the greatest melodic death 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.259 metal albums ever made. Yeah. If you are opening 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:48.279 for Carcass on that tour, you cannot suck. You 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:50.300 will get booed off the stage immediately if you 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:52.180 can't play. And they could play. They could definitely 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:54.240 play. But the real breakthrough, the moment where 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:55.959 they really found their sound, seems to be the 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:59.490 second album, Tribe. Absolutely. Tribe, which 00:04:59.490 --> 00:05:02.410 was released in 1996, is often cited as a true 00:05:02.410 --> 00:05:04.829 landmark for them. This wasn't just an Italian 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:07.689 release anymore. It was distributed by Sunrising 00:05:07.689 --> 00:05:10.990 in Europe and, crucially, Toys Factory in Japan. 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:13.649 Japan is such a key piece of the puzzle here, 00:05:13.709 --> 00:05:15.899 isn't it? It is. The Japanese market has always 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:18.319 had a huge appetite for technical proficiency. 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.480 If you can shred, if you can play a million notes 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:24.279 a minute with absolute precision, Japan will 00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:27.699 embrace you. Precisely. And Tribe showcased Telemachus' 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:30.740 vision perfectly. They even had a music video 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:32.800 for the title track that got broadcast all over 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.319 Europe. Which was huge for extreme metal back 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:38.160 then. Very rare. But what's fascinating here 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.779 is how they utilized keyboards. In American death 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:43.160 metal of the mid -90s, keyboards were often seen 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:46.160 as soft, or they were just used for spooky intros. 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:48.279 Right, like a little cheap horror movie atmosphere 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:51.920 before the real guitars kicked in. Yes, but sadists 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.560 used them as a late instrument, actually trading 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:56.899 blows with the guitar. It definitely gave them 00:05:56.899 --> 00:05:59.160 that specific Italian sound. It wasn't just brutal, 00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:01.850 it was elegant. And speaking of getting noticed, 00:06:02.089 --> 00:06:05.370 in late 96, they even ended up on an Iron Maiden 00:06:05.370 --> 00:06:08.050 tribute album covering Wrathchild. Which is a 00:06:08.050 --> 00:06:10.810 badge of honor for any metal band. It is. But 00:06:10.810 --> 00:06:13.230 as we so often see in these deep dives, just 00:06:13.230 --> 00:06:16.050 as a band hits their stride, the lineup instability 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:19.860 kicks in. It is the classic curse. It really 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:22.199 is the curse of the ambitious band. Right after 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.680 Tribe, the drummer, Queso, the guy who helped 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.040 start the band Leeds, to reform his old band 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:30.259 NecroDeath. Coach. And then the singer, Xana, 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:32.100 who had already replaced the first guy, gets 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:34.819 replaced by Trevor Nadir. It becomes a revolving 00:06:34.819 --> 00:06:37.120 door. And yet they kept pushing. They released 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:40.480 Crust in 1997. They signed to Displeased Records. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.360 And they even played Whackin' Open Air in Germany 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:48.089 in 1998. Wacken is the holy grail of metal festivals. 00:06:48.490 --> 00:06:51.490 So up until 1998, the trajectory is completely 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:53.550 upward. They are technical. They are respected. 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:55.470 They are growing. They are doing everything right. 00:06:55.649 --> 00:06:58.189 Okay, let's unpack this next part because this 00:06:58.189 --> 00:07:00.550 is where the story takes a massive, highly controversial 00:07:00.550 --> 00:07:04.180 turn. We get to the year 2000. And the album 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:07.860 is called Lego. Lego. Even the name feels, I 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:10.439 don't know, blocky. It does. It is a controversial 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:12.480 chapter, to say the very least. For context, 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:14.819 think about what was happening in heavy music 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.959 globally in the late 90s and the year 2000. It 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:20.279 was not technical death metal. It was the era 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:24.600 of the red Yankees cap. Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot. 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.879 New metal was the king of the world. Downtuned 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:32.620 guitars, rapping, baggy pants, and sadist, well. 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:34.819 They decided to join the party. It was a very 00:07:34.819 --> 00:07:37.360 distinct shift. They produced Lego themselves 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:41.180 at Talamanka's Niger Recording Studios. The complex, 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:43.540 progressive structures that they were known for 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:46.579 were totally stripped back. The sound became 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:49.980 groovier, simpler, more jumpy. It was very clearly 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:52.000 influenced by the nu metal explosion. And the 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.800 fans hated it. Not as favorable as the polite 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:56.360 phrasing used in the history books, but yes. 00:07:56.970 --> 00:07:59.629 Yes, they did. It completely alienated their 00:07:59.629 --> 00:08:01.370 core audience. The people who loved them for 00:08:01.370 --> 00:08:03.050 their technical wizardry and their progressive 00:08:03.050 --> 00:08:05.939 influences felt betrayed. And on the flip side, 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:07.980 the new metal kids didn't really care because, 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:09.920 well, why would they listen to an Italian death 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.839 metal band trying to adapt? It just didn't feel 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:14.120 authentic. No, it felt like trend chasing. It 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:16.420 is that classic risk. Do you stick to your roots 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:19.019 and stay small? Or do you chase the massive trend 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:21.360 and risk losing absolutely everyone? In this 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:24.399 case, the gamble failed. And it failed so hard 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:26.399 that the band actually went on hiatus. They just 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:28.519 stopped. But, you know, sometimes a failure like 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:31.540 that is necessary. You think so? I do. It forces 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:35.299 a reset. If they just kept churning out mediocre 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:37.799 new metal albums to try and catch a wave that 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:40.019 was already cresting, they would have faded into 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:42.480 total obscurity. Instead, they stepped away. 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:45.519 For five years, Sadist essentially didn't exist. 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:48.379 But you cannot keep a good musician down. Fast 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:51.379 forward to 2005. They reform, they sign with 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:53.360 Beyond Productions, and they get back to work. 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:55.820 And when they come back with the self -titled 00:08:55.820 --> 00:08:59.019 album Sadist in 2007, it genuinely feels like 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:01.580 an apology letter to the fans it was a massive 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:04.350 return to form But with a new maturity. And there 00:09:04.350 --> 00:09:06.809 is a detail on that 2007 album that I think is 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:08.690 brilliant. They featured a guest appearance by 00:09:08.690 --> 00:09:10.950 Claudio Simonetti. Wait, Claudio Simonetti from 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:13.610 Goblin, the band that did the soundtrack for 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:15.929 Suspiria and Dawn of the Dead. The very same. 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:18.169 That is incredible. And this is exactly why I 00:09:18.169 --> 00:09:20.350 mentioned the Italian sound earlier. Yeah. Italian 00:09:20.350 --> 00:09:22.909 progressive rock and Italian horror cinema are 00:09:22.909 --> 00:09:26.490 deeply intertwined. Goblin is absolute royalty 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:29.110 in that world. So by bringing Simonetti onto 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:32.740 a death metal album. Sadist was explicitly connecting 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:36.059 their extreme sound with that atmospheric cinematic 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:39.159 heritage of their home country. It grounded them. 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:41.639 It essentially said, we aren't chasing American 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:43.759 trends anymore. We are doubling down on being 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.289 Italian. That is such a cool connection. It turns 00:09:46.289 --> 00:09:48.710 the music into something way more than just heavy 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:51.570 metal. It becomes atmospheric storytelling. It 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:53.669 is like they finally realized their strength 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:56.509 wasn't in copying Limp Bizkit, but in channeling 00:09:56.509 --> 00:09:59.149 Suspiria. Exactly. And speaking of storytelling, 00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:01.889 their post -reunion era is just full of these 00:10:01.889 --> 00:10:04.769 wild, creative left turns. They certainly stopped 00:10:04.769 --> 00:10:06.830 playing it safe. They started treating every 00:10:06.830 --> 00:10:10.279 album like a unique. art project take season 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:12.879 in silence in 2010 for example right but here's 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.340 where it gets really interesting in 2015 they 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:18.019 released an album called hyena now usually metal 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:20.159 bands might look to classical music or maybe 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:23.779 norse folk music for inspiration but sadist they 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:26.929 look to africa It was a profoundly bold move. 00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:29.730 Hyena was inspired by African rhythms and mythology. 00:10:30.190 --> 00:10:32.850 And they didn't just slap a digital sample on 00:10:32.850 --> 00:10:35.669 it and call it a day. They actually worked with 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:38.929 a Senegalese percussionist named Jean N'Diaye. 00:10:39.110 --> 00:10:41.110 Can we just pause and appreciate how unusual 00:10:41.110 --> 00:10:44.389 that is? You have Tommy Talamanca shredding on 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:47.830 electric guitar, Trevor Nadir doing brutal death 00:10:47.830 --> 00:10:51.049 metal growls, and then actual Senegalese percussion 00:10:51.049 --> 00:10:53.649 weaving through all of it. How does that not 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:55.789 sound like a total mess? It works entirely because 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:58.649 of polyrhythms. Okay, explain that to us. What 00:10:58.649 --> 00:11:01.029 exactly is a polyrhythm? Simply put, it is when 00:11:01.029 --> 00:11:02.769 you have two different rhythms playing at the 00:11:02.769 --> 00:11:06.070 exact same time. So imagine your left hand tapping 00:11:06.070 --> 00:11:08.870 a steady four -beat pattern on your desk while 00:11:08.870 --> 00:11:11.409 your right hand taps a three -beat pattern against 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:14.070 it. Right. It creates this complex rolling feel. 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:16.730 Now, progressive metal is all about complex time 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:19.710 signatures, but African drumming is the actual 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:22.740 origin of complex polyrhythms. Ah, I see. Musically, 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:25.879 it was actually a perfect natural fit. It added 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:28.440 this primal hypnotic layer to the metal that 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.279 you just do not hear elsewhere. It proved they 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:33.039 were willing to experiment without dumbing down 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:35.450 the sound like they did back with Lego. That 00:11:35.450 --> 00:11:38.149 is fascinating. So instead of simplifying to 00:11:38.149 --> 00:11:40.409 try and be catchy, they actually made the music 00:11:40.409 --> 00:11:42.750 more complex, but they did it using a completely 00:11:42.750 --> 00:11:45.669 different musical vocabulary. Exactly. And then, 00:11:45.669 --> 00:11:47.649 just to keep us on our toes, the next album in 00:11:47.649 --> 00:11:51.350 2018, Spellbound, is entirely dedicated to Alfred 00:11:51.350 --> 00:11:53.830 Hitchcock movies. Yes, the cinematic obsession 00:11:53.830 --> 00:11:57.009 comes full circle. Every single song on Spellbound 00:11:57.009 --> 00:12:00.009 references a Hitchcock film or character. They 00:12:00.009 --> 00:12:02.269 have tracks referencing the Mountain Eagle and 00:12:02.269 --> 00:12:04.789 other deep cuts. I love that. It showcases their 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:06.909 love for suspense and atmosphere. They aren't 00:12:06.909 --> 00:12:09.490 just writing songs, they're creating soundscapes. 00:12:09.549 --> 00:12:11.470 It really gives you a reason to sit down and 00:12:11.470 --> 00:12:13.350 listen to the whole album, not just skip through 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:16.429 the singles. Now bring us into the modern era. 00:12:16.669 --> 00:12:19.330 We are looking at the period from 2019 through 00:12:19.330 --> 00:12:23.490 to early 2026. What defines sadist today? The 00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:26.049 defining characteristic of modern sadist is high 00:12:26.049 --> 00:12:29.090 -level musicianship. specifically regarding two 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:33.309 instruments, the keyboards and the bass. We mentioned 00:12:33.309 --> 00:12:35.450 earlier that Talamanka plays both guitar and 00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:38.210 keys, but in the studio, he is layering them 00:12:38.210 --> 00:12:40.830 constantly, right? Correct. He creates this massive 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:43.450 wall of sound where you sometimes actually cannot 00:12:43.450 --> 00:12:45.389 tell where the guitar ends and the synthesizer 00:12:45.389 --> 00:12:48.889 begins, but that is the secret sauce. Sadist 00:12:48.889 --> 00:12:51.289 has a long, dedicated history with the fretless 00:12:51.289 --> 00:12:53.870 bass. For the listener who might not be a musician, 00:12:54.049 --> 00:12:56.110 why does fretless matter? A bass is a bass, right? 00:12:56.210 --> 00:12:59.639 Not quite. So a standard bass guitar has those 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:01.980 little metal bars that separate the notes on 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:04.399 the neck. When you press down and play a note, 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:07.480 it is precise. It is locked in. It's either a 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:10.529 C or a C sharp. A fretless bass, much like a 00:13:10.529 --> 00:13:13.210 violin or a cello, has a completely smooth neck. 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:15.429 This allows the player to actually slide between 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:18.169 notes. So you get that distinctive kind of moi 00:13:18.169 --> 00:13:21.049 sound. Exactly. It sings. It sounds almost liquid. 00:13:21.230 --> 00:13:23.210 Now, in standard death metal, the bass is usually 00:13:23.210 --> 00:13:26.049 just a rhythmic, metallic clanking noise buried 00:13:26.049 --> 00:13:28.470 under the kick drums. Just adding low -end rumble. 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:31.500 Right. But in Sadist, because they use fretless 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:33.639 bass, played by original member Andy Martini 00:13:33.639 --> 00:13:36.440 for years, and later by the absolute virtuoso 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.360 Jerome Paul Fessling on the Fire Scorch album, 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:42.379 the bass acts as a primary melodic voice. It 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:44.480 adds a jazz fusion elegance to the brutality. 00:13:45.210 --> 00:13:47.470 That singing quality really does cut right through 00:13:47.470 --> 00:13:49.509 the mix. It makes it sound sophisticated, almost 00:13:49.509 --> 00:13:52.929 expensive in a way. So they released Fire Scorched 00:13:52.929 --> 00:13:55.509 in May 2022, which was a massive hit with the 00:13:55.509 --> 00:13:57.950 critics. And then, jumping to the very recent 00:13:57.950 --> 00:14:00.549 past, they announced their 10th studio album, 00:14:00.769 --> 00:14:03.110 Something to Pierce, which dropped on March 7, 00:14:03.289 --> 00:14:06.690 2025. Ten albums. That is a massive milestone 00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:09.590 for any band, especially one in a genre this 00:14:09.590 --> 00:14:12.610 extreme and niche. It proves their absolute longevity. 00:14:13.129 --> 00:14:15.090 But, and there is always a but, but in the music 00:14:15.090 --> 00:14:17.309 industry, 2025 wasn't just a celebration of new 00:14:17.309 --> 00:14:20.029 music. We have to talk about the summer of 2025. 00:14:20.169 --> 00:14:22.429 We do. And this raises a very important question 00:14:22.429 --> 00:14:24.389 about the responsibility of artists in a polarized 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:26.769 world. So here are the facts exactly as we have 00:14:26.769 --> 00:14:29.889 them in the sources. In the summer of 2025, sadists 00:14:29.889 --> 00:14:31.350 announced they were going to perform in Russia 00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:34.220 in November of that year. And obviously, given 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:36.879 the geopolitical climate of the mid 2020s, the 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:39.240 sanctions, the isolation, the ongoing conflicts, 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:41.860 that is a decision that carries incredibly heavy 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:43.720 weight. You don't just accidentally book a tour 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:46.480 there in 2025. No, you don't. Immediately, there 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.419 was a huge backlash. The media headlines were 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:52.799 things like sadist and hot water and fans were 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.679 erupting on social media. It wasn't just a few 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.559 angry comments on a post. It was a full blown 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.639 PR crisis. And the band's response was short. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.779 And very specific. They officially stated that 00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:07.559 they were apolitical. So what does this all actually 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.120 mean for a band's legacy? When a band says they 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.659 are apolitical while actively booking a tour 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:15.320 in a country that is heavily sanctioned and isolated, 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:18.179 is that a valid defense anymore? Well, we are 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:19.879 looking at the tension between the pure artist 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:22.799 ideal and the harsh reality of the world. The 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:25.440 band likely views themselves as musicians who 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.419 just want to play for their fans, regardless 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:29.600 of what government those fans live under. They 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.889 see music as a bridge. Or perhaps they just see 00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:35.690 it as a job. They are a niche band. They need 00:15:35.690 --> 00:15:37.789 to tour to survive and pay the bills. They might 00:15:37.789 --> 00:15:40.690 genuinely believe that their music exists outside 00:15:40.690 --> 00:15:43.509 of borders. Right. But the critics argued that 00:15:43.509 --> 00:15:45.590 by physically going there, they are inherently 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:47.850 making a political statement, whether they want 00:15:47.850 --> 00:15:50.509 to or not. One headline even said they forgot 00:15:50.509 --> 00:15:52.980 the world still has Internet. Exactly. In the 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:56.480 1980s or 90s, metal bands played everywhere and 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:59.240 often claimed total ignorance of the local politics. 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.480 It was almost a badge of honor to just play the 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:03.960 music and ignore the news. Yeah. But in 2025, 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.620 claiming to be apolitical is seen by many people 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:10.340 not as neutrality, but as willful blindness. 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:13.340 Now, we aren't taking a side on whether they 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:15.500 should or shouldn't have gone. Our job is just 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:17.600 to look at the data. Right. Absolutely. And we 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:19.659 can objectively say that the apolitical shield 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:22.439 just doesn't work the way it used to. simply 00:16:22.439 --> 00:16:24.879 didn't stop the backlash. It certainly didn't. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.679 And it leaves a bit of a weird mark on what really 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:29.539 should have been a celebratory year for their 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:32.480 10th album. It complicates the legacy, for sure. 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:35.039 You have the musical brilliance on one side, 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.620 the fretless bass, the African rhythms, the Hitchcock 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:40.019 themes, and then you have this modern moment 00:16:40.019 --> 00:16:42.679 of being seemingly completely out of touch with 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:45.039 the global sentiment. It is a messy ending to 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.919 our timeline, but honestly, maybe that fits. 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:49.500 Sadist has never really done things the easy 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:52.899 or clean way. From day one, mixing prog and death 00:16:52.899 --> 00:16:54.799 metal, they have always been swimming upstream. 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.879 If we connect this to the bigger picture, Sadist's 00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:00.860 career is almost a mirror of the metal scene 00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.590 itself. It started with youthful aggression in 00:17:03.590 --> 00:17:05.890 the 90s, went through a total identity crisis 00:17:05.890 --> 00:17:08.569 with Nu Metal in the 2000s, found a sophisticated 00:17:08.569 --> 00:17:11.750 artistic renaissance in the 2010s, and is now 00:17:11.750 --> 00:17:14.710 navigating the absolute minefield of modern ethics 00:17:14.710 --> 00:17:17.150 and politics in the 2020s. That is a perfect 00:17:17.150 --> 00:17:19.230 way to summarize it. From black screams in a 00:17:19.230 --> 00:17:21.750 basement in Genoa to international controversies 00:17:21.750 --> 00:17:24.329 and 10 full studio albums. They are survivors. 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:27.259 And whether you love the African jazz fusion 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:30.500 death metal or absolutely hate the nu metal experiments, 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:34.160 you have to respect the sheer tenacity of Tommy 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.660 Talamanca. He kept the ship sailing through waters 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:40.240 that would have sunk almost any other band. Absolutely. 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:43.099 So if you are listening to this right now and 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:45.160 you have never heard a single note of Sadist, 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:47.900 where should you start? I would suggest starting 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:50.440 with Tribe if you want that classic 90s sound. 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:52.900 But if you want to hear what makes them truly 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:56.099 unique, go straight for Hyena. It is unlike anything 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:58.680 else in the genre. And maybe save Lego for when 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:01.440 you were feeling particularly adventurous or 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:04.339 maybe masochistic. Or just curious about historical 00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:07.480 missteps. Exactly. Before we go, leave us with 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:09.400 something to think about. Well, looking at that 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.720 2025 controversy, I want you to consider this. 00:18:12.059 --> 00:18:14.279 Heavy metal was born as a genre of rebellion. 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.200 Rebellion against norms, against authority, against 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:20.019 polite society. In today's hyper -connected, 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:23.539 hyper -moralized world, is a band claiming to 00:18:23.539 --> 00:18:25.990 be apolitical? The ultimate act of rebellion? 00:18:26.549 --> 00:18:28.710 Or is it simply being entirely out of touch? 00:18:29.130 --> 00:18:31.509 Is ignoring the world the most metal thing you 00:18:31.509 --> 00:18:34.809 can do? Or the least? Wow, that is going to keep 00:18:34.809 --> 00:18:36.609 me up tonight. Thank you for that. And thank 00:18:36.609 --> 00:18:38.690 you all for listening to this deep dive into 00:18:38.690 --> 00:18:41.170 the weird, wonderful world of sadist. Go listen 00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:42.809 to the music, decide for yourself, and we will 00:18:42.809 --> 00:18:43.809 catch you on the next one.