The country of South Korea is far from a place that I’d go to look for some tasty metal, let alone thrash metal. Yet, like many things, I continue to be impressed as the world of metal proceeds to consistently throw tasty new morsels my way from every corner of the world. Sahon is a name I’ve never even heard before, but given how the name has been around since the 90s I feel I should’ve heard them sooner, so I investigated their upcoming record and I have a lot of catching up to do.
Thrash is very much a style that I definitely need to get into more as it’s a style that has always had massive peaks for me but then also becoming so overwhelmingly generic at times that I’d need long breaks to feel refreshed to the style. It’s a bad habit that I need to break and hearing the excellence that is Sahon’s upcoming “Chanting for the Fallen” will break that trend for me as these eight tracks are a vicious brand of thrash the likes of which I need to find more of immediately. Right off the bat, “Chanting for the Fallen” gives off a great impression with ferocious speed and an intensity that really is made to melt your skin from the very start, and that only continues for the entirety of the record. Granted, there’s nothing grand or game-changing at play with this album, but that doesn’t take away from the quality of “Chanting for the Fallen” as Sahon truly draws from their decades of experience to craft a record the likes of wish I saw more of in the wide expanse that is the world of thrash metal. We’re treated to crushing riffs and a tastefully bridled sense of chaos that truly brings everything together in order for “Chanting for the Fallen” to feel cohesive, entertaining, and all-around satisfying to listen to when you come to the end of this exotic example of Korean metal.
Color me surprised and thus impressed by an act I wasn’t inspecting. The world is always filled with new surprises to throw at me, especially with metal, and I’m typically more than happy to meet them head-on. Sahon has easily earned my attention with the stupendous mastery that is “Chanting for the Fallen”, and you can bet your ass you’ll find me crawling through the band’s past works in order to satisfy my new fix for Korean thrash.
“Chanting for the Fallen” releases on July 15th via Transcending Obscurity Asia!
LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Chanting for the Fallen” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Sahon on Facebook here.
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