Sabbath Assembly

This band is not really metal at all, but since it’s been released on a black metal label, it has an interesting story,  I’m writing about them anyway. It is undoubtedly dark.  I think anyone who’s an open-minded fan of doom metal will enjoy Sabbath Assembly.

Sabbath Assembly is a new project that seeks to bring to life the hymns of a 60/70′s religious cult called the Process Church of the Final Judgment. The members of this cult had a special affinity for German Shepherds, wore black cloaks and worshipped God, Satan, Jehovah and Jesus equally.  Sounds like it was very controversial in that time and a really great concept to write heavy music about.  The church had many hymns, but none were ever recorded, so this effort is to bring those hymns to life years after the dissolution of the cult.   I’ve not much experience with concept bands, and I wonder if this will be a one-off piece of music history as there is only so far you can go with this particular concept.  I hope not.  The singer has said that there are 60 hymns to work with, and this first album, Restored to One, only has 10, so there could be further albums to come.

The result is a very dark piece of psychedelic rock mixed with doom.  Without a doubt, it’s the most interesting album I’ve heard this year.  Most songs, though the lyrics are mostly celebratory of their gods, take a dark, creepy eerie tone throughout.  The instrumentals have a heavy sixties influence, which remind me of Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors, to name a few.  Interestingly, one of the articles I read about the Process of the Final Judgment mentions that because of the creative focus that the cult had, Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithful and George Clinton all contributed to publications the church published.

The vocals are gorgeous.  Jex Thoth (from a doom band of the same name I’d not heard of until now) has a perfect voice for this kind of music. I’ll admit that I have a history of detesting female vocals in heavy music, for the most part, but her voice is too beautiful to find fault with.  She manages just enough drama to keep the intensity of the material going but never gets cheesy.   The only downside to this album, which is a very personal point, is that there are times when the album gets too gospel for my comfort.  I have never been too comfortable with religious ideas, which is unlike the majority of people, so I don’t imagine it bothering anyone but me.

In a market that’s pretty saturated with bands working off of everyone else’s mostly modern ideas and offering only minor improvements, it’s really refreshing to listen to something completely different that breaths new life into old ideas.

My favourite song off of the album is called “Hymn of the Consecration”, which is available for free from Stereogum. I cannot recommend checking this out highly enough.  And in case you’re worried about being sucked into a defunct cult through the hymns, I have been listening to it in pretty heavy rotation for the past week and remain religion-free, so you should be alright.

Sabbath Assembly on Myspace
Free download of Hymn of the Consecration