Sabbat

We now venture from Europe and America to east Asia and the Land of the Rising Sun.  Japan is home to a few well-known black metal bands, earliest among them the black/thrash group SABBAT.  They formed in 1983 as Evil before changing their name to Sabbat in 1984.

"Black Fire" is originally off of their 1985 self-titled EP

Sabbat has been an extraordinarily prolific band since their inception.  In their early years, they didn't exactly release alot of full-length studio albums, but instead opted for a slew of EP's.  Their first EP was the self-titled one released in 1985, followed by 1987's Born By Evil Blood, 1988's Desecration, 1989's The Devil's Sperm is Cold, and 1990's The Seven Deadly Sins.  It wasn't until 1991 when they put out a full-length studio album (Envenom).

"Curdle the Blood," off of 1987's Born by Evil Blood

Their sound is a pretty consistent black thrash.   If you've heard old Sodom, or the old-school extreme thrash of the era, or even Necrodeath (more on them at another time), you get a general idea of their style.  But I think the best description might be the immediate successors to the throne more or less vacated by Venom after 1984's At War With Satan.  I think that you can hear the debt owed to bands like Sabbat in the sound of groups like Aura Noir, Bewitched, Witchmaster, and even that other famous Japanese black/thrash band, Abigail.

"Hellfire" is from the 1989 EP The Devil's Sperm is Cold

Sabbat is still around to this day, and not only are they extraordinarily prolific, but they perform a shitload of live shows (many of which go on to get released as live albums).  While they aren't as raw or primitive as many other black metal bands out there, they need credit for pretty much kick-starting the entire Japanese black metal scene.

Select Discography:

Sabbat 7" (1985)

Born by Evil Blood 7" (1987)

Desecration 7" (1988)
The Devil's Sperm is Cold 7" (1989)
Sabbatical Demon (demo) (1990)
Seven Deadly Sins 7" (1990)
Bloody Countess (demo) (1991)
Envenom (full-length)  (1991)
Evoke (full-length) (1992)
Disembody (full-length) (1993)
Fetishism (full-length) (1994)

Next: BULLDOZER