SADUS — Illusions (Chemical Exposure) (review)

SADUS — Illusions (Chemical Exposure) album cover

Album · 1988 · Technical Thrash Metal

4.5/5 · 2019-04-21
siLLy puPPy

While all thrash bands were clearly influenced by the likes Venom, so too were the big four of Metallica, Megadeath, Anthrax and Slayer game changes as they ratcheted up the extreme elements and took it all to the next level, however it was Possessed who took things even further and unleashed their highly caustic “Seven Churches” upon an unsuspecting world and in the process provided breadcrumbs that would lead into the next phase of thrash transmogrification into the death metal scene. While Possessed would devolve back into the rather customary thrash metal followup “Beyond The Gates” as the band went for the more commercial route rather than continuing their sui generis brand of balls to the wall proto-death metal, it wouldn’t take long for another Bay Area thrash band to pick up where “Seven Churches” left off and once again blur the distinction between the status quo thrash of the 80s with the more gritty heft of what would become 90s death metal.

SADUS actually formed in 1984, the year before “Seven Churches” was released but after a few years of honing their chops and releasing a couple cassette only demos in the form of “Death To Posers” and “Certain Death,” the band renewed the fiery spunk that Possessed had suddenly dropped. Augmented by the over the top bass antics of Steve Di Giorgio and percussive explosiveness of Jon Allen, SADUS had achieved a more aggressive and extreme metal sound that wandered far beyond the parameters of the competition and like many underground extreme metal bands of the era found a cult following before a debut album was even released. After the 1987 compilation “Raging Death Vol. 1” which has been called the ultimate proto-death goldmine, the quartet that consisted of Darren Travis (lead vocals, guitar), Steve Di Giorgio (bass, backing vocals), Jon Allen (drums) and Rob Moore (guitar) put the finishing touches on their debut album ILLUSIONS with the assistance of Metal Church’s guitarist John Marshall and the album was released in 1988.

ILLUSIONS was released independently and the chaotic tremolo fueled lightning strike made quite the impression as it not only unleashed an unrelenting technical thrash blitzkrieg to the senses that took the unbridled fury of Possessed but also added a touch of the technical prowess of bands like Watchtower. The album’s metallic fury caught the attention of Roadracer Records who re-released the album under the title CHEMICAL EXPOSURE in 1991 (which offered two bonus tracks from previously released demos). After the introductory brevity of an atmospheric synthesized drone, ILLUSIONS explosively bursts into metallic bombast that doesn’t let up the attack on the senses until the closing title track which ironically contained both release titles neatly packed into one, thus “Illusions (Chemical Exposure)” which must’ve been the inspiration for bands like Esoteric to delve into the freeform surreal metal paradigms of what sounds like the radioactive decay of isotopes after the nuclear impact of the orotundity that preceded.

While some have criticized SADUS’ use of speed at the expense of the melodic developments that contemporary thrash metal was implementing at the time as heard by Metallica, Exodus, Forbidden and other Bay Area thrash acts, the truth is that the frenetic nature of this beast simply obfuscates the melodic constructs by creating more angular deliveries and takes a much darker dance into the tortured psyche of humankind which is made all the more sadistic by the psychopathic vocal outpouring of lead vocalist Darren Travis. It’s also very obvious how SADUS were influential for the death metal of Morbid Angel and others to come with a pyroclastic explosiveness of tremolo picked guitar riffs and the squealing solos that erupt like a tortured pig at a Satanic sacrificing ritual. The album perfectly balanced the stable elements of thrash with a reckless sense of unpredictability that made the perfect “dangerous listening” experience. The production while not polished is much better than a mere demo and likewise skirts the fine balance between too primitive and too polished.

While SADUS didn’t quite achieve the commercial success as other Bay Area thrash legends such as Metallica or Exodus, the band nevertheless was quite influential in the underground movement and blurred the distinction between the fledgling metal subgenera that were splintering apart and despite it all sold quite well for a completely self-released underground creation. Violent and psychotically unhinged, SADUS demonstrated that what Possessed had hit upon was worthy of further exploration and with ILLUSIONS demonstrated the musical chops to crank out the blitzkrieg assault of guitar, bass and drums in an incessant speed frenzy that cross-pollinated the world of thrash and the nascent death metal of Chuck Schuldiner’s Death and created pure sonic destruction. While still considered a thrash metal album, it’s not hard to hear that with just a few small alterations such as the Cookie Monster death growls and a little tweaking of the guitar riffs that this would have been considered amongst the first death metal releases. No matter what you call it, SADUS cranked out an amazing delivery of some of the most energetic metal music of the entire 80s with labyrinthine song structures performed with a rather eccentric touch of madness and for that this one holds a special place in history.