When you talk about a band like Sadus, you talk in terms of quality, not quantity. Those in the know back in the late 80s and early 90s as technical thrash slowly gave way to death metal glommed onto their incredible debut Illusions (or Chemical Exposure as I knew it, coming to the CD release in ’91). Five killer albums between 1988 and 2006, and then silence. 16 years later and now down to the duo of founding members Jon Allen and Darren Travis (bassist Steve Di Georgio having left in 2015 for another dozen bands), we’re graced with The Shadow Inside, and if anything has changed, it’s that the time away was spent getting even more aggressive, honing every riff into a razor sharp barb that pierces as a reminder of exactly how to make this kind of music.

Fans got an early taste of what was to come last year with “It’s The Sickness” which confirmed Travis’s voice remained as singular and powerful as ever, and Allen’s sweeping drums filled the entire soundstage. Yeah, Di Giorgio’s play everywhere bass is gone, but if anything it refines the attack of the guitars to a pure steel trap of thrash. Nowhere is this more evident that the opening of The Shadow Inside: “First Blood” spends its first two and half minutes ripping your face off with guitars before the first hint of vocals appear. It’s a clarion call that Sadus have lost none of their swagger – the music is a swirling mass of ideas emanating form the cosmos, grabbing your he’d not unlike the stunning cover art courtesy of Travis Smith. As an opener it’s massive. As the first salvo from a band gone for the past 16 years? It’s a axe to the head of their competitors and peers.

The rest of The Shadow Inside follows a similar trajectory. “Scorched and Burnt” and “Ride the Knife” vacillate between lightning fast attacks and slower, grinding colossal steps across the Earth. The album is pretty tight at 10 songs in 47 minutes, but each track feels like a mini epic thanks to all the ideas stitched together. The average song has anywhere from 15 to 1,500 different riffs, and all credit to Allen and Travis for taking 35 years of partnership and making every idea feel seamless and cohesive. I love the frantic solo in “Anarchy” and how it segues into a killer drum attack before slamming into the final chorus. The Intro to “No Peace” feels like something more technical and progressive for the first 15 seconds, and then blasts into something altogether more gnarly and death-driven. And did I mention Travis’s vocals? they are a force of nature, and the lift everything gets from Juan Urteaga on the production side makes this sound like an absolute beast.

I wasn’t expecting to be this excited for Sadus’s return after so many years. The Shadow Inside stands proudly alongside the many highlights in the band’s career, and if I might be so bold, feels like a new chapter for the duo. This is a brutal, ruthless album that pulls no punches and feels like totem other bands will flock to as they attempt to play in the same thrash box Sadus practically invented back in the day.

Play loud. Stretch before listening to ensure minimum damage to tendons and neck from all the headbanging.

— Chris

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The Shadow Inside will be available November 17 on Nuclear Blast. For more information on Sadus, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.