Band:	Sammath
Album:	Godless Arrogance
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	February 2014

01. Shot In Mass
02. Fear Upon Them
03. Godless
04. Thrive In Arrogance
05. This World Must Burn (Hammer Of Supremacy)
06. Through Filth And The Remains Of Man
07. Death (Hunt Them Down)
08. Nineteen Corpses Hang In The Mist

What once started as a one-man project developed into the beast it is today. 20 years down the road and Sammath proves that 'new' isn't always better. With their latest offering Godless Arrogance, the wheel was not reinvented, it didn't needed to, but rather some elements were added to improve its functionality.

Founder Jan Kruitwagen managed to put together a troop of skilled musicians and with Godless Arrogance they might be finally on their way to lose that 'underground band' persona and gain more international exposure. Since, let's face it, The Netherlands are not known to be the black metal capital of the world.

In today's competitive market, especially in the ever so 'fan-elitist' black metal genre, the need to stand out more often overshadows the quality of the music played. And while Sammath's sound did change compared to their, or better yet, his first demo, the changes were subtle up until now. Trying to stay true to their black metal roots, Sammath took the more extreme approach with their latest release. Faster, louder, harder.

The guitars are awesome; riffs up the ass. The drumming is superb on this album and the bass provides that little extra push, while the vocals tie the whole thing together. No intro is present and with "Shot In Mass", Godless Arrogance starts fast and furious, albeit a bit too hectic for my taste, and continues to pummel the ears with blast beats all the way to the end. There is a lot going on in the album, which can be credited to the songwriting skills of the band's mastermind. The production is top notch, crisp and clean.

With that being said, if you expect another Strijd or Dodengang you might want to skip this one. While the latter still is their best album in my book, I do understand the reasoning behind going the extreme route this time around. Hence, if you look for the added functionality in the aforementioned wheel, Godless Arrogance will take you where you need to go.