SABBAT — History of a Time to Come (review)

SABBAT — History of a Time to Come album cover

Album · 1988 · Thrash Metal

4.5/5 · 2021-02-16
siLLy puPPy

In the world of metal music there were two bands called SABBAT, and both very respected with many similarities and many differences. The first SABBAT to form was the Japanese band form Kuwana, Japan however although the band was founded as far back as 1983, that SABBAT wouldn’t release any material until their debut album emerged in 1991. This other SABBAT which formed two years later in 1985 was from Nottingham, England and was the first of these two bands to release an album. This debut HISTORY OF A TIME TO COME emerged in 1988, three years before the Japanese SABBAT so therefore this could rightfully mean that this SABBAT wins!

Both band’s name is derived from the Pagan witch’s ritual that refers to a gathering of practitioners who perform witchcraft and other rituals and this British SABBAT was certainly enamored with such themes and crafted three albums around them before splitting up only six years after they began. While thrash metal isn’t the bailiwick of English bands emerging in the 1980s, SABBAT was considered one of the big four of the thrash metal scene which also included Acid Reign, Onslaught and Xentrix but out of all these bands i’d pick SABBAT any day as the most original of the entire British thrash metal scene.

While the band only released three albums, each is quite different with this debut HISTORY OF A TIME TO COME the most rooted in traditional 80s thrash metal magic. This first lineup included the guitar riff attacks of Andy Sneap, bassist Frazer Craske, drummer Simon Negus and the band’s most original aspect which came in the form of vocalist Martin Walkyier who not only delivered some outstandingly wicked sounding vocal performances somewhat in the vein of Annihilator but was also the main contributor of the Pagan lyrical themes that ultimately proved to be to much for the other band members who slowly exited the scene and ultimately ensured a short shelf life for SABBAT. Despite all this chaos, SABBAT remains one of the pinnacles of the British thrash metal scene.

There are a few elements that make HISTORY OF A TIME TO COME a riveting 80s thrash metal experience. First of all the band really knew how to create excellent thrash metal music with catchy melodic hooks that found the instrumentation of guitars, bass and drums in perfect unison but what really set this band apart from virtually every other were the brilliant lyrics and distinct vocals of lead singer Martin Walkyler who not only endowed SABBAT with a timeless popularity that will continue to eternity but continued with his next band Skyclad which was pivotal in crafting some of the first folk metal. Walkyler’s vocals were quite unique as he was able to capture that thrash metal vocal style perfectly and provided the optimal center figure for the music to wrap itself around.

This album brilliantly begins with an intro with all kinds of sound effects that set the tone before the thrash metal bombast begins. This is a very melodic early metal experience where all of the instrumentation supports an overall melodic construct and in that department SABBAT excels with one catchy track after another but also delivers in the ferocity of the cutting edge contemporary metal artists of the day. The album is extremely clever in how everything is placed. For example the intro of “For Those Who Died” begins with a spoken word dialogue that features a judge asking “How do you plead” while the plaintiff responds “Not guilty” which repeats and fades out while the judge saying guilty fades in. Oh, and did i mention those fucking kickass vocals? Geez, those are the first thing you’ll notice about this album and also the very aspect that will keep you coming back for more!

SABBAT’s three albums are very different from each other but this is the one that captures the pure essence of early thrash metal and one of my favorite examples in the entire genre. Everything just works here so well. The lyrics are intelligently designed, the musicianship is excellent and the melodic constructs are instantly addictive. Whether you subscribe to Pagan lyrics or not is beside the point as well. Walkyier’s lyrics are utterly brilliant in how he conveys his message. While not perfect, this is definitely one of my favorite 80s metal albums and although this second SABBAT album “Dreamweaver” seems to get more love, it’s this one that i return to the most.