By Albert Mansour
Sahg takes influence from classic groups like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin and their doom metal sound ranges from fast, retro sounding groovers to more plodding and psychedelic crushers. Fuzzy, trippy and heavy, Sahg does a nice job changing up the styles and tempos. On II, it seems that very little of the band’s formula has changed, meaning that this disc is also quite impressive. It is full of catchy hooks, brilliant grooves and the occasional full-throttle headbanger. If one were picky, it could be easily argued that Sahg have spent more time favoring the spaced-out, stoner side of the genre than the heavy, crushing doomage of the last disc. However, for every one of the lighter, morphine-trip moments on II, there are at least two faster paced, ass-rockin’ sections to keep the adrenaline flowing, and ultimately the listener’s attention. Sahg are still 100% on their game with this disc, as they leave us with yet another slab of blissfully fuzzy, heaviness that continues to darken your soul and keeps you company on your road to hell.
Also of note: ex-Gorgoroth bassist Tom Caro Visnes is a current member of Sahg; he played on the first and second Gorgoroth albums, although this album has no obvious Gorgoroth influences what so ever.
http://www.myspace.com/sahg
(Regain Records)
