2008 saw this Polish act release their fairly average debut, “The Cult Of Vermin”, on a thrash scene that was already at full throttle and it is fair to say the band has certainly developed into a much tighter unit albeit still with those Arabic like influences - a feature that is not unexpected seeing as the band name is apparently Arabic for cancer. Also the bands logo has altered slightly as the cross has morphed into a true letter T, analyse as you see fit.
The melodic start to “Extinguishing The Hope” can only be the lure to your own false sense of security as the thrash riff that unfolds is crunchy, modern and bolstered by some hefty double bass that gives the track a heavier edge. The Arabic touches are not far away but blend with the Bay Area riffage fairly comfortably. The band has thankfully ditched the metalcore style breakdown effects that graced the debut, as they now favour double bass death thrash mongering instead. The title track continues in a similar vein as noticeably the vocals have a shouted style, but not hardcore as you might be thinking, more like Rob Flynn of Machine Head. The mid break riff is as catchy as they come in modern thrash and indeed this bands song writing benefits from having a more modern edge than a retro one.
I was impressed by the leads on the album as each lead break has aforethought and possesses an intricacy that many thrash acts often leave as an afterthought when structuring their songs. “Dead Inside” exemplifies this skilfully as the song even has clean vocals that fit well with the song without becoming overtly gay. “My Demise” is a class song with a huge Voivod on steroids (to quote my mate) like riff. Once again the clean vocals work well with the way the band has crafted the song. Granted this album has a couple of fillers I didn’t enjoy like “Pray For The Rest” but relatively speaking it is still a good thrash song.
“Destroy Yourself” begins with a corking riff and big double bass injection as the track veers much closer to death metal than thrash. The aggression is matched by the chopping riff technique that make it equally catchy and a real neck mover as the bass drums match the riffs beat for beat, hook for hook. Whilst it would be wrong for me to say this album is groundbreaking in anyway it does contain a raft of quality written songs each with identifiable traits I thoroughly enjoyed as the band attempts, successfully I might add, to incorporate extra twists like Arabic tints, acoustic breaks and the odd female vocal for atmosphere. For a treat of underground thrash that has a few surprises then this is worth checking out.
http://www.myspace.com/saratanband
http://saratan.metal.pl
