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Sabre, Sabre: Teeth Get Gnashed

They lock in a number of modern doomly aesthetics on their self-titled, Pact Ink Records debut, but Cincinnati, Ohio, newcomers Sabre keep a mostly consistent feel in their songs. The 33-minute, seven-track outing, Sabre, plants its feet atop a rawer form of post-metal – i.e., no drones or electronic flourishes – while also reaching for some of the faster riffing/blasting style that many of the newer atmospheric doom outfits have taken on, not forgetting to throw a little YOB-style crunch into the mix. Their shorter songs — a track like “Josiah,” for example — give a glimpse at what post-hardcore might have been had it been invented by riff-worshipers, and they balance their attack with liberal tempo changes. It’s not as radical as going from funeral doom to grindcore, but the switches show some versatility on the part of the Midwestern trio, who self-released two demos prior to hooking up with Pact Ink for this album.

The songs are mostly instrumental, though when vocals come up, it’s guitarist Brian Ross handling them. Sabre starts with the lull-you-into-security groove of “Astral Convergence” before switching immediately into the blasting noise beginning movement of “Unearthly Body,” which at 2:25 is the shortest track Sabre have on offer, and a telegraphed example of the aforementioned tempo switches. Listening to the album for the first time, you can almost hear the change coming, Ross and bassist Neal Hunter tapping some of the same tonal heft as Torche, but going someplace entirely dirtier with it while drummer Chase Schleyer keeps pace with tapping snare hits behind. What “Unearthly Body” has going for it is that it’s devoid of any excess. Even when the song hits its wall and slows to a rumbling crawl, you still feel like you’re moving with maximum intensity. “Condescension” hits an apex that reminds of Akimbo’s excellent Jersey Shores offering, leading into the drearier centerpiece “Black Water.” Schleyer switches to his toms for an intro, adding punch to Hunter’s low end, while Ross lets notes ring out just long enough for the song to keep an oceanic undulation before the blast-beats start and give way in turn to nod-worthy guitar triplets à la YOB’s “The Mental Tyrant.” No complaints there, though they don’t last long before squibbly leads take hold and drive toward two or three more changes before Sabre are done with the track.

This kind of stylistic schizophrenia can be exhausting, but Ross, Hunter and Schleyer do a better job of keeping an overall flow following “Black Water,” still staying mostly instrumental and still stopping and turning on the proverbial dime, but sounding more natural somehow doing so. “Josiah,” as noted, in rooted in a speedier approach, but offers natural shifts and crashes within that framework, and the nine-minute instrumental cut “Automation” is basically just hypnotic hits and rung notes for its duration, loosely based around a riff not unlike something Ufomammut would pull on one of their records. “Automation” acts as an extended breather, remaining in its mood for the duration, and although it’s easy to get lost in the churn and repetitiveness, I’m more thankful that it doesn’t try to do too much than I am wearied by its sameyness. It’s probably Sabre’s doomingest moment, capped by abrasive noise that leads into the closer “WhoreInstinctsDefined,” which, now that I’m refreshed by the cut preceding, I feel energized enough to engage with more completely.

The title of the song also serves as its only lyrics, spit once by Ross, and it’s fitting that Sabre should close their self-titled in largely instrumental fashion, since that’s been the focus all along anyway, and with the nine minutes of “Automation” before them, the words of “WhoreInstinctsDefined” are given all the more impact for their solitude. As an album, Sabre is cohesive in its approach and execution, but I wouldn’t be surprised if next time around the trio didn’t manage to settle in more stylistically, and by that I don’t mean lose the tempo changes, but instead develop how and when the changes take place, offering dynamic shifts that feel more emotional, rather than put there for their own sake. Hunter and Schleyer are a more than capable rhythm section no matter the pace or angularity of what they’re playing, and Ross’ guitar work is worthy of the leadership role it takes on these seven songs. Sabre has some growing to do – though I have the feeling if they were from Chicago, they’d already be huge – but their self-titled delivers a clear idea of what they’re going for, albeit somewhat rough in the production, and I find that the more I hear it, the more attuned to its changes I become. It’s probably not genre-changing, but still worthy of note for fans of doom in the age of ADD.

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2 Responses to “Sabre, Sabre: Teeth Get Gnashed”

  1. You can now get Sabre’s full length CD and tape for $11 PPD in the US!
    bastardsloth.blogspot.com

  2. Sabre says:

    Thanks for the review! Shirts available @ sabreband.blogspot.com

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