22-541: Oppressor is a technical death metal band from Chicago , Illinois , which formed in 1991 and disbanded in 1999. They released three albums. Three of the band's members went on to form alternative metal band Soil . Oppressor was started in May 1991 by Tim King and Adam Zadel. A month later, they found another guitarist, Jim Stopper, and a drummer, Tom Schofield. They recorded their first demo, World Abomination , in 1991. A second demo, As Blood Flows , recorded in 1992, got them
44-421: A few months of activity. They managed to score a record deal with Olympic Recordings and released Agony in 1996. In 1997, three-quarters of the band, bar Jim Stopper, started an alternative metal side project called Soil , with Broken Hope guitarist Shaun Glass and Ryan McCombs . In 1998, Oppressor released their final album, Elements of Corrosion . When in 1999 Soil become more popular than Oppressor,
66-413: A quartet, the band's sound fuses thrash metal with death metal , featuring highly technical musicianship. They are known for the unique death growl of vocalist Darren Travis, and bassist Steve Di Giorgio . During their career, Sadus has released six studio albums, one compilation album and four demos, and had two lineup changes, with the band continuing without replacing any of the departed members. Sadus
88-430: A record deal with Red Light Records, who released their first full-length album, Solstice of Oppression , in 1994. Shortly after the album's release, Red Light went bankrupt and the band was forced to find another label. In the meantime, the band released a one-off live album/compilation album with Megalithic Records, entitled Oppression Live/As Blood Flows . Megalithic, a Milwaukee, WI label, also went bankrupt after
110-774: A studio collaboration with singer Björn Strid , of Soilwork , Terror 2000 and Coldseed , Glen Alvelais from Forbidden , Testament and LD/50 and Jeremy Colson of the Steve Vai band, Marty Friedman , Michael Schenker , Apartment 26, Dali'S Dilemma and LD/50 repute. On November 18 the band appeared at the Monterrey Metal Fest event at the Auditorio Coca-Cola in Mexico alongside Blind Guardian , Cathedral , U.D.O. , Edguy , Obituary, Deicide , Leaves' Eyes , Bludgeon, Vainglory, Hydrogyn and Joe Stump's Reign of Terror. Sadus
132-636: A subsequent year-long bout of touring. Di Giorgio was to return for club shows with Sadus but before any momentum could be gained Moore bailed out. Instead of replacing Moore, Sadus continued as a trio crafting the Scott Burns produced Elements of Anger in 1997. The in demand Di Giorgio, along with drummer Jon Allen, also operated a side project Dragonheart (later Dragonlord) with former Vicious Rumours and present day Testament guitarist Steve Smyth and his fellow Testament six-stringer Eric Peterson. Di Giorgio teamed up with Iced Earth in late 2000. News during
154-442: Is complex including techniques such as blast beats , odd time signatures and double kicks . The technical death metal genre has also been influenced by mostly jazz fusion , as well as thrash metal and progressive/technical -inspired heavy metal bands like Death, Megadeth , Slayer , Voivod , Kreator , Dark Angel , Coroner , Sadus , and Watchtower , the latter of whose second album Control and Resistance (1989)
176-520: Is often considered to be one of the sources of inspiration for the genre. The 1990 album The Key by Nocturnus has been cited as the first progressive death metal album. One of the key works that cemented the subgenre was Atheist 's debut album Piece of Time , also released in 1990, which took death metal into a more intricate level while incorporating influences ranging from jazz fusion to progressive metal . In 1991, New York death metal group Suffocation released their debut album Effigy of
198-522: The Illusions debut retitled Chemical Exposure as Sadus regrouped for a summer American tour opening for Morbid Angel . Although a further album for Roadrunner, 1992's A Vision of Misery , resulted in a European headline tour, Sadus found itself labelless upon their return. Further setbacks occurred when Di Giorgio was enticed back to Death for the Individual Thought Patterns album and
220-493: The Florida death metal scene, to which Nocturnus , another influential band, also belongs. Distinct features of the subgenre include dynamic song structures, complex and atypical rhythmic structures, abundant use of diminished chords and arpeggios , frequent employment of odd time chord progressions , and consistent use of techniques such as string skipping in the guitar work. Bass lines are usually complex, and drumming
242-623: The Forgotten , which focused on pairing speed and brutality with a "sophisticated" sense of songwriting. Atheist's second album Unquestionable Presence , Pestilence 's third album Testimony of the Ancients , and Death's fourth album Human were all released the same year, forging a path for more intricate and refined releases within the death metal genre. Sadus Sadus is an American thrash metal band from Antioch, California , active from 1985 to 2015, and reunited in 2017. Originally
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#1732872521866264-642: The Snake . On August 20, 2017, Darren Travis confirmed via Facebook that Sadus would be releasing new material. In October of that year, Travis posted two videos from the studio teasing new music from the band. Former bassist Steve Di Giorgio was not part of the reunion. In November 2017, Travis told Blabbermouth.net : "I have been working on new material for quite sometime with drummer Jon Allen in his personal studio in Texas. I am going to record again in Trident Studios in
286-666: The band decided to part ways. In 2021, vocalist Tim King announced his return to death metal with a new band called Embryonic Autopsy. The Embryonic Autopsy debut album Prophecies of the Conjoined was released by Massacre Records in February 2022. Oppressor played death metal in a style that came to be known as technical death metal. They were influenced by bands like Morbid Angel , Death , Gorguts , and Suffocation . Their lyrical themes usually centred on conventional themes such as death, suffering, and moral depravity. They were also one of
308-692: The band did increase activity that year. In April the group toured Europe, taking in shows in Greece, Italy, Sweden and appearing at Norway's Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo. Di Giorgio then took time out to record with Artension then hit the European festival circuit with Testament. Gigs in August marked a first for Sadus as they toured Chile alongside Torturer whilst on South American dates. New Sadus material would be laid down throughout September and October before Di Giorgio joined
330-681: The band's original Death To Posers 1986 demo onto CD in 2003, adding a brace of cuts from a 1988 session, Certain Death , as a bonus. Sadus announced they were to partner up with fellow thrash veterans Nasty Savage and high-profile Finnish act Finntroll for European mainland dates in December. However, just days after the official press release confirming these shows the band withdrew as drummer Jon Allen's commitments to his 11-year-old daughter, who had just undergone open heart surgery, took precedence. Despite Steve Di Giorgio commitments in 2004 to Testament,
352-523: The debut album pulling in Metal Church guitarist John Marshall as producer. The pace of progress was quickened as a deal with label Roadrunner Records was secured resulting in a further album Swallowed in Black and touring with the likes of Sepultura and Obituary . Sadus was put on hold for 1991 as Di Giorgio opted to assist Death for their Human album. With this added exposure Roadrunner re-released
374-545: The first death metal bands to incorporate keyboards into their music. Technical death metal Technical death metal (also known as tech death ) is a musical subgenre of death metal with particular focus on instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Technical and progressive experimentation in death metal began in the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely driven by four bands that, according to Allmusic , are "technical death metal's Big Four" – Death , Pestilence , Atheist , and Cynic . All but Pestilence are part of
396-502: The next few weeks for two/three new tracks. Guitars and voice. Teasers will be posted on Facebook via YouTube links. Then full songs soon." On November 18, 2022, Sadus announced that they had signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Records for the 2023 release of their new album, and on the same day, they released their first song in 16 years called "It's the Sickness". The band's sixth studio album, and their first in 17 years, The Shadow Inside
418-539: The ranks of Sebastian Bach 's band for further European touring in December. The bassist would also be announced as a contributor to recordings for Norwegian act Scariot in early 2005. Sadus, together with producer Brage Finstad, entered Trident Studios in Pacheco, California to record their fifth album for a late summer 2006 release via Mascot Records. In March 2006 Jon Allen manned the drum kit for live work with Testament. That same month found Di Giorgio involving himself in
440-450: The summer of 2002 would reveal that frontman Darren Travis and bassist Steve Di Giorgio were embarking on another all star union billed as Suicide Shift. The project allied the Sadus pairing with Testament vocalist Chuck Billy as well as drummer Per Moller Jensen of The Haunted and guest guitar from the much travelled, Death and Cancer guitarist James Murphy . The Hammerheart label would put
462-655: Was announced as teaming up with Destruction , Hirax and Municipal Waste for a North American tour throughout January and February 2007. However, the group dropped off these dates as new year broke. Sadus lined up the South American 'Fuera Por Sangre' dates hitting Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia in April prior to supporting Obituary in Mexico during May. In 2009 Sadus veterans Jon Allen and Steve Di Giorgio were noted as founder members of Futures End . Di Giorgio rejoined Testament in 2014 and played on their 2016 album Brotherhood of
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#1732872521866484-400: Was formed in 1985 by vocalist Darren Travis, guitarist Rob Moore, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Jon Allen. A year later, the band would release their demo tape D.T.P. (Death to Posers) . These sessions led directly to the inclusion of two tracks on the 1987 Raging Death compilation album. Quick to capitalize on this achievement Sadus stuck their hands in their pockets to self finance
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