Sangue – S/T (Yeah, Listen To This One)

Knowing that the former drummer of Pungent Stench was part of this gang, I figured it had to be good. That’s kind of strange to say about a drummer, because, well, they drum. What else can you say? If you can pound good enough, no one really pays attention, but Rector Stench had this style to what he did that was unmistakable and fit into his old band’s sound somehow. You just knew it was them, they were one of those metal groups that had their own thing. Here he plays a much different role as a cavernous earthquake for Italy’s Sangue, which approach death metal like an archaeologist molesting old bones. There’s very little information out there about them currently, no site to speak of, no social media presence, so already they’re shadowy, but considering this S/T is but their first release, and an EP, I’ll give that a pass and allow it, for now. But come on, don’t you want me putting stickers and GIFs all over your page? I’d like to please. Pls make this reality pls.

  

Sangue comes and goes fast, because it’s only two tracks. But for a debut EP they didn’t need more than that, trust me, because the turmoil in your ears oozes for long after, and then you want some more of it, but you only have these two damn tracks to satisfy. So, it’s something of a smart move, minus the lack of social media to build presence, because I already want to know what they have in the works, but they’re not telling, for now. The sound of this is archaic and covered in black mold so its sound crumbles in the hands like a skeleton buried in wet clay. Older sound, newer style, great. The vocals, I particularly enjoyed, as they bellow and echo from the stereotypical depths. Strangely the riff action is occasionally uplifting, but then decays again and you feel so bad about life you love it. It’s always hard to judge a band based on such a small amount of material, but there is a promising future here. The real question, as always, is what will their sound become when you listen to it over a full-length? We shall see.

 

Written by Stanley Stepanic

Sangue – S/T
Nuclear War Now! Productions
4 / 5