Grinding martial black metal band Sammath publish their seventh album, Grebbeberg, on June 16th of this year via Hammerheart Records. The band has already released two tracks from the album, one of which is on our radiocast of underground metal.

Following the powerful start that Sammath achieved with Strijd, the band began exploring a new direction that was like a cross between Morbid Angel, Vader, and Beherit, a precise but Bolt Thrower style grinding at high speed like death metal with the ambience of black metal, seen most clearly on Dodengang.

The band synthesized the two approaches on Godless Arrogance and then with Across the Rhine is only death began exploring a more contemporary war metal and old school death metal fusion mixed into the already complicated Sammath tactical approach on Grebbeberg.

Built around high speed Bolt Thrower meets Zyklon-B style riffing, this album focuses on Battle of the Grebberg:

On 10 May 1940, German troops invaded the Netherlands with such overwhelming force that the Dutch army had to surrender within a few days. One of the main battlegrounds was the Grebbeberg, in the middle of the country. During the battles several of the surrounding villages and towns were severely damaged, among them the towns of Rhenen and Wageningen. In order to enforce a quick capitulation, the German Luftwaffe bombed two Dutch cities, Rotterdam and Middelburg. The centre of Rotterdam was almost completely wiped out. Plans were soon made for its reconstruction, but the actual rebuilding of the city only started after the war. The result was a modern city with only a few scattered remains of the past.

This gives the battle a poetic dimension: a doomed war for a doomed army, putting up furious resistance simply for the sake of resistance to the foreign force, even if later some of the defenders joined the Wehrmacht to oppose the potentially worse influence of the Soviets.

To capture this feeling, Sammath uses mostly two- and three-chord grinding chromatic riffs that establish a type of drone against which it offsets contrasts in song structure and snatches of melody, producing the sense of unending violence interrupted by glimpses of purpose.

The label issued the following statement:

Sammath started out as a Black Metal band formed by Jan Kruitwagen by the end of 1993, after Jan moved from Australia back to The Netherlands. Jan was very much inspired by 80’s Thrash and Australian metal. The first demo “Zwaardbroeders bij de Bergengte” (Brothers of the Sword at the Mountain Pass) came out in 96 and lead to German Folter Records signing Sammath. The first album “Strijd” (Battle) was unleashed in 1999.

In 2001 Sammath developed into a live band, bassist Ruud Nillesen joined at this point. Since then, five more albums have been released and many live shows were played. Sammath signed to Hammerheart Records in 2013 and released the furious “Godless Arrogance” album. Soon after, in 2016, Wim van der Valk (Inquisitor, Centurian) joined the band on drums and Sammath turned into the powerful three-piece war machine it is today. All in the band started to play a larger role in arrangements of the music. After the release of the second album on Hammerheart “Across the Rhine is only Death” well received live shows in Germany, Serbia, Romania and Russia took place.

The upcoming 7th album, once again set in the horror of World War II, tells the story of Kruitwagens great-uncle who perished in the forgotten battle of the “Grebbeberg” in 1940. A fitting title for an album showing Sammath at its peak. 30 years of experience in songwriting comes together in a perfect storm. Like a war hammer to the head, “Grebbeberg” is Black Metal which beats you into submission. It simultaneously provides the soundtrack to battle preparation and the triumph of victory in battle, all in a very ugly way. No matter how grand and unforgettably poetic folkloric depictions of Hell are, there is little prose aimed at the Underworld anywhere near as horrifying as the theater of war among men. No excuses, no reamping, no recording drums or guitars in segments. Blood, sweat and breathing extreme metal. “Grebbeberg” sees the band perfect the style they were championing on their previous two albums. A dynamic, tremelo filled glorious return to 90s Black Metal with a great strong production.

• Mixed by Marco Hartgens and finished off with a perfect fitting master by Peter Neuber
• The 7th album by Sammath, and their most intense so far
• Recorded organically and mostly without dub overs, which results in a great performance
• Sammath is a very active live band and will play a lot of shows to support the release of “Grebbeberg”

Fit for extreme ears that also blast their way through bands such as: Marduk, Angelcorpse, Satyricon, Anaal Nathrakh, Morbid Angel

Grebberg will delight hardcore Sammath fans and thrill much of the underground metal audience despite being less purist black metal than Godless Arrogance, adding a dimension of musicality to war metal and simultaneously keeping the old school death metal spirit alive.

Tags: Black Metal, death metal, hammerheart records, Old School Death Metal, sammath, War Metal