Album Review: Sabbath Assembly - A Letter Of Red

My colleague and I have discussed many things we don't like about the current state of music, and one of them is the overuse of the word 'dark'. It's a cliche, and it doesn't really tell us much about whether the music you're making is actually any good. Like 'heavy', or 'fast', they describe qualities, not quality. Plus, it seems a lot of dark rock and metal bands use that word as a way of saying you should be focused on the atmosphere they create, rather than their songs, because they know it's much easier to achieve the former. Sabbath Assembly, as you can guess by the band referenced by their name, are what constitutes a dark rock band of the modern vintage kind.

The echoing vocals of "Solve et Coagula" fit, as the language barrier is obscured by the production, with many of the words getting lost in the mix. Plenty of bands that call themselves 'dark' rely on obscuring parts of the performances for the sake of atmosphere, but it rarely serves as a strong point. Songs are almost always better when the lyrics come through, and the message of the song is easy for the listener to hear. I don't like having to work to hear a singer, and I find it a flaw, both of the singer and producer, if the lyrics have to be read to be understood.

"The Serpent Uncoils" introduces an influence you might not expect for a band of this kind; Heart. The main galloping riff to the song is reminiscent of "Barracuda", although it doesn't build to a climax, instead generating energy just so everything can slow down to a more ethereal moment. It's a waste of a song that could be more powerful if the band didn't feel the need to bring everything back into the shadows. Their commitment to being a dark, doom-influenced band gives them a narrow palate of colors to paint with, and they water them down anytime something might be veering towards the vibrant.

I find the sound, distant and tinged with reverb, to be tiring after two songs. There aren't any hooks to the songs to brag my attention, and then the sound itself is rather misty. Absolutely nothing about the album is sharp, and demands my attention. It's very easy to find your thoughts drifting away to something else as this plays, because the band isn't giving you a reason to stay focused. Perhaps that works in a dark and smoky club as they play, but it doesn't work on record, when there are countless other things going on around us at every moment.

There isn't much to say about this record, because it doesn't give me much material to work with. It's an album that floats by, a bit like a ghost, leaving only the faintest of impressions on your mind. It's the kind of music I hear a lot, and that has never explained to me what the point is supposed to be. As a songwriter, I can't imagine pouring myself into compositions that don't have something compelling about them. I don't hear in any of these songs the idea they had, whether it's a guitar riff or a vocal line, that convinced them they needed to build a song around it. There isn't anything of that sort here. The album is just sort of.... there.

And ultimately, that's one of the saddest things I can say.