I thought Sahg was going to play a much harder bran do fmetal than was present on the opening moments of “Sahg I”. There is a heavy Ozzy influence during this track, as well as dollops of influence from acts like Monster Magnet and (even) Fu Manchu. The only thing that I can hear that distinguishes Sahg from the rest of the rock and metal acts that are plastered all over radio has to be the length of tracks like “Repent”. Where acts like Godsmack would close things out around the four minute mark, there is a whole second half to the track that Sahg essentially opens the disc with. The inclusion of slightly Middle Eastern influence.
The one thing that individuals will immediately know about Sahg is that the tracks on this album are all very similar to each other. This is not to say that they are clones or are otherwise carbon copies, but rather that the band has a definite list of influences that they use on this disc and a goal to complete. The band is able to normalize their track lengths by the time that “The Alchemist” comes to bar on the listeners. Sahg is talented, in the sense that the compositions that hit listeners are interesting enough to keep individuals listening throughout the entirety of the disc. Sahg is finally able to break free of their sound during the guitar solo of “The Alchemist”. While their cohesion on this album is a good thing, throwing in a little Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also a good thing. “Rivers Running Dry” is another track that starts to shake the foundation that Sahg had created at the beginning of the disc.
With this track, Sahg is able to start moving slightly into the sludge rock of acts like later Corrosion of Conformity and Monster Magnet. The band should continue experimenting with the overall sound, as their arrangement skills are perhaps some of the most smoothed out that I’ve heard from a band of this age. The band may not be at the cutting edge of metal but they do provide listeners with some good, hard rock that individuals will be headbanging to long after the disc ends. If Sahg could go forward and continue to expand and grow as a band, I have no clue that in five or ten years that they may be one of the better known acts out on the touring circuit.
Top Tracks: Godless Faith, Soul Exile
Rating: 6.0/10
Sahg – Sahg I / 2006 Candlelight / 11 Tracks / http://www.sahgweb.com / http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com / Reviewed 27 August 2006
[JMcQ]