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SADISTIC FORCE
Midnight Assassin

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions / GoatThrone / Mercenary Press / Postmortem Apocalypse (2023)
Rating: 8.5/10

Being the creation of Texan vocalist / guitarist James Oliver, Sadistic Force is a black-thrash attack that has existed for three years and in that time we have seen several releases, including a couple of EPs – Pain, Sex, And Rapture and Black Moon Sadism – and a scorching debut full-length album entitled Aces Wild in 2021. Oliver is joined here by Blaine Dismukes (bass / backing vocals) and Jose Alcaraz (drums / backing vocals), which is the same line-up from the last outing and so it’s no surprise that the tracks served up on Midnight Assassin are of similar design.

What you get whipped by is a raw, speeding hellfest summed up by the potent sneer of the title track which begins like Darkthrone in current retro mode but unravels as something more volatile. The same goes for the tumultuous ‘Speeding Black Leather Hell’; admittedly generic in its scathing prowess but equally it’s as infectious. The vocals have that throaty snarl and the guitars streak to the demonic rattling if bass and drum.

Ripping through a variety of influences, ranging from old Slayer, old Metallica, Venom and Motörhead, Sadistic Force are a foreboding aural assailant to take on, and it’s the lethal drums and menacing atmosphere which really drive this outing along. In spite of the lack of originality, the horror themes (damn, the record was even released on a Friday 13th!) and attitudes displayed really entertain.

‘Campaign Of Sin’ begins like Darkthrone doing Hellhammer, ‘Nuremberg Nights’ kicks in with a galloping drum and marries Motörhead with something off of Metallica’s Kill ’Em All album, and ‘Marked For Death’ chugs like a blackened Anthrax. There’s some serious metal going on here that’ll get a corpse head banging, and that’s a compliment to the riveting tunes this trio supplies. ‘Howl Of The Horde’ is punky thrash, ‘The Butcher’s Apron’ is more of a straightforward Bay Area steamroller and ‘Corpsewood Curse’ zips with a clinical vim.

Midnight Assassin is a fine return from Sadistic Force and I’m sure that I’ll be spinning this fireball on Halloween and beyond.

Neil Arnold

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