Sabbath Assembly – Ye Are Gods (2012)

Continuing providing insights into the mysterious ways of the Process Church of the Final Judgment, today we have Sabbath Assembly and their second release titled “Ye Are Gods”. Using the process and text from the churches holiest mass “Sabbath Assembly”, this release provides a unique insight into the intricate theology behind the church in a very authentic fashion thanks to the role of Genesis P-Orridge as the hight priestess.

The first track “Let Us All Give Praise And Validation” opens like a regular churche service with Genesis providing a few words before the choir takes the lead, this opening delivers the first of many goose bump moments in this very eerie release. Our first (and only) beef with this album is that Jex Thoth has been replaced with Jamie Myers (ex-Hammers of Misfortune). While both are extremely talented singers, we think that Jex’s voice is a bit deeper and thus better fitted for the music, but Jamie does a great job in capturing the essence of the music in this release.

The lush instrumentation of “We Come From The One” makes the song quite enojayble and a completely different from the first track. The chorus section in this song is quite hypnotic and really sinks in with the spoken background vocals. “Bless Our Lord And Master” has that immediate vibe of a ‘traditional’ church song, but with a considerably more interesting and bizarre ideology behind its lyrics. The parts with the distorted guitars and the male and female choir-like vocals are perfectly crafted to shift the listener’s attention and focus, creating a bit of an unsettling feeling.

One of our favorite tracks in this release is the very dramatic and somber “We Give Our Lives”, Imaad Wasif does a great job with the vocals and perfectly reflects the somber nature of the music through the lyrics. With “Exit” we are given the first ‘longer’ dosage of heavy guitars and a more traditional Psychedelic feeling, we particularly love the excellent guitar work in this song that sounds excellent with the vocal arrangements. “And The Clarion Calls” is another one of our favorite tracks thanks to the very mellow mood and percussions.

Total chaos comes under the name of “In The Time Of Abaddon II”, hands-down the creepiest track in this release. Featuring plenty of spoken passages by Genesis P-Orridge, this track will surely induce nightmares on the listener. In terms of lyrical content, we like the ideas behind “Transcendence”, makes us very impatient to get the finished product and look through the album’s lyrics. The folk-ish “The Love of the Gods” closes this release in a very upbeat mood and with lush female vocal arrangements. We can’t help but feel ‘happy’ in a way with such an upbeat and warm and fuzzy song.

Sabbath Assembly continues to impress us with their interesting insight into the world of Process Church of the Final Judgment via their very unique musical style. If you liked the first album, and are ready for more ‘religious’ madness, be sure to get this release.

Release: September 21st, 2012

Genre: Psychedelic Rock

Country: USA