Saprophyte – “Saprophyte” DEMO (2009)

Independent Release

Review By Tony Cannella

From Toronto, Canada comes the band Saprophyte. They play a form of extreme metal, but they are not bound by that one genre. In addition to the sledgehammer riffs and the growly vocals by Isabelle Tazbir, the band manage to incorporate such influences as eclectic as Death Metal, Progressive and Thrash Metal as well as elements of Jazz and even Reggae. Make no mistake about it though, Saprophyte is a ferocious and brutally heavy band. The band list some of their influences as: Opeth, Mastodon, Death and… Pink Floyd, a pretty broad mix right there. With song titles like “Icepick Lobotomy” and “Beaten By A Priest”, you can already guess what you’re in for on this 3-track debut from this Canadian band. Sure there is a lot of musical carnage going on here, but also a very high level of musicianship. “Surreal Actuality” starts things of and right away, you notice that there is something different in this bands style of extreme aggressive metal. The songs are very much based around heavy riffs and the ultra-aggressive vocals of Isabelle, which are quite forceful. The band follow that up with the previously mentioned “Icepick Lobotomy” and close things with the albums tour-de-force, the 8-minute “Beaten by a Priest” is a great closer.While it’s true that a band like Saprophyte will definitely not appeal to every kind of metal fan, they are still worth checking out for the collision of styles that the band presents. Musically, the band are hard to put a finger on and the final track on the EP is a perfect example of this. Whether you like them or you don’t, you have to admire a band like Saprophyte for branching out and doing something a bit left-of-centre in the extreme music genre.