Review: Sahon – Chanting for the Fallen

Review by Sandre the Giant

South Korean thrashers Sahon are onto their sixth full length record since their inception in the late nineties, and play a ripping form of death and black influenced thrash. ‘Chanting for the Fallen’ is their call to arms against the stereotyping of their music as well as a celebration of their Korean heritage. It is out in a couple of weeks through Transcending Obscurity. Having friends living there and being a fan of the culture myself, I am looking forward to seeing what the peninsula can do in terms of metal.

Instantly their artwork stands out as being totally different from most in the genre, and opener ‘Faith in Savagery’ has a razor edge to its galloping riffing. All the tropes of thrash are here, cool as fuck soloing, thrashy vocals and speedy riffing. What makes a great thrash album is not necessarily doing anything new, but it is doing the old stuff well. ‘At the Edge of Cliff’ is a rampant slab of early Kreator worship, with some absolutely awesome riffing patterns throughout, while the frantic ‘Survive’ is seriously speedy. ‘Chanting for the Fallen’ is not overly polished, and that rough edge really gives their songs that killer instinct, particularly in the driving Motorhead-esque beauty of ‘Born to Lose, Live to Win’ and the chaotic closer ‘You Shall Pay’

Sahon don’t need to hit you over the head with any ‘Asian’ stereotypes or instrumentation in their music, instead they hit you with pure enthusiasm and talent instead. ‘Chanting for the Fallen’ combines the best parts of Teutonic and Bay Area thrash, adds a little bit of grime and dirt and asks only that you thrash your ass off while listening. Just what any great thrash record should do, ‘daedanhi gamsahamnida‘ lads!

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