By: Dave Allan Guzda
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Released on March 3, 2015 via The Flenser
Brooklyn New York’s Sannhet has released the follow up to their crushing 2013 album Known Flood, which brought the instrumental trio some well deserved attention and their new release entitled Revisionist continues the impressive ascent of this band. Sannhet have been tagged as “black metal”, “post-metal”, “post-rock”, “noise”, “shoegaze” and “experimental”. Various aspects of all those genres are infused within Revisionist‘s nine song sonic fracas.
From the opening self-titled track to the end of the album, there is a consistent palpable urgency to Sannhet’s music. I often felt like I was on board a runaway car as it careening back and forth constantly slamming against the electrically charged guide-rails. The album has substance and weight, it feels draining to listen to. Even with less overt black metal on Revisionist compared to Known Flood don’t think even for a nanosecond that this new release is any less intense. It simply isn’t. Sannhet do release the black metal demons but do so in shorter blasts of darkness which are smartly woven within the broader composition of songs. The impact is enthralling. ‘You Thy __ ‘ and ‘Lost Crown’ pulsate with this lavish black metal fury. I could imagine metal vocals howling over Sannhet’s musical ferocity but I certainly enjoy (even prefer) the tracks without them.
Equally colourful is the song ‘False Pass’, which quickly ramps up into a tornado of angry guitar, pounding drums and emphatic bass. While the track drives forward with mad droning guitar, bassist AJ Annunziata and drummer Christopher Todd hammer an unyielding catchy melody. Drummer Christopher Todd capably leads the charge for Sannhet with his diverse beats song after song, providing both fervor and continuity. The groove, melody and tonal accentuations from bassist AJ Annunziata articulate the many shifting passages on the album. Throughout Revisionist John Refano’s guitar fires thunderous salvoes of melodic musical energy. Whether the song requires speed, softness, aggression or texture, Refano has the sonic savvy. The music is primarily intense and heavy post-rock and metal. There are however a few respites from the monstrous metallic onslaught. The opening of the track ‘Empty Harbour’ shows a delicate yet ominous side of Sannhet and the strained aching tension of ‘Sinking Forward’ is distinctive and memorable.
Like the songs on Known Flood there continues to be immense depth and layers of sound on Revisionist. The instrumentation focuses on drums, guitar and bass but Sannhet also add samples, loops and visuals to their instrumental credits. So in addition to the stunning musicianship there is also a purposeful level of attention paid to the atmosphere and feeling of each track. There aren’t vocals on any of the songs but the band seems to speak through their samples of spoken word, eerie voices or clips from speeches. This album has plenty of character to offer and continues to surprise after many listens.
Revisionist is a gritty, gripping and wholly immersive album that is enjoyable in its entirety. Sannhet blend metal, post-rock and shoegaze to craft impeccably flowing, creative song with stinging instrumentation and looming omnipresent atmosphere. Absorbing this album deeply is highly recommended. <[?]>!
