Review: Sakahiter – Samnite Black Metal

September 9, 2025

1619

Anti-Roman Aktion

How would you define a comeback album? Solely as a band bouncing back after a disappointing release or simply returning after a lengthy absence in their discography? There are bands who don’t release anything noteworthy then out of nowhere drop a classic. Sometimes these are bands you will only ever hear if you spend your time trawling the back-end of file-sharing archives and who would have otherwise been less than footnotes in the history books. In the case of Italy’s Sakahiter, I would’ve skipped over them after a few minutes if I had only heard the material they released in the first half of the 2000s. It was sweeping, second wave-esque black metal with a kind of “warm” and triumphant tonality I associate with that scene but not much else beyond serviceable. There were hints of more—a few particularly spirited portions and particularly evocative melodies—but a few strong moments cannot hold up an overall middling sound. After 2005, the band was silent and remained unknown outside of their local scene.

In 2022, Sakahiter would return with the Legio Linteata EP and a shift in sound to go along with it. With a new lineup featuring three members also in the semi-Swedeath act Mass Strangulation, they had a newfound intensity, visceral in a way their originally wispy black metal could’ve benefited from. Death metal began to creep its way into their sound and the improved production job only added to the ensuing rhythmic punch. It wasn’t a perfect release, sounding a bit choppy and almost stumbling at points; a number of riffs didn’t hit like the others and songs at times struggled to lead their themes to satisfying conclusions. Even with these shortcomings, it remained a sign of change, escalation, and improvement and an impressive showing for a band of their age and obscurity.

The death metal aspect of their sound is now at its most prominent in the somewhat misleadingly titled Samnite Black Metal. 25 years in the making, it is as much a celebration of the ancient enemies of Rome as it is the completed metamorphosis of Sakahiter’s sound. They are now as much a death metal band as they are a black metal one, specifically the melodic subgenre of the former that was a direct predecessor to its corpse-painted counterpart. Subsequently, this is their most dynamic work yet, with numerous shifts in tempo and riffing style coordinated with greatly improved musicianship. It’s starkly technical compared to its predecessors yet even-handed in execution, with the broad stroke melodies of their early days benefiting from the juxtaposition against and interjection of the punchy rhythms.

While they are an Italian band, the easiest points of reference would be the traditional Swedish meloblack/death scene. Alf Svensson-era At The Gates, Unanimated, Dissection, Dawn, A Mind Confused, Eucharist, Cromlech, and others come to mind. Elongated tremolo patterns form the basis of their arsenal with lightly thrash-tinged rhythm sectioning off individual portions and splitting sections off into specific roles. The actual melodic sensibility is far less “chilly” than their Nordic counterparts, more evocative of the radiant and at times even “warm” tonality of older national counterparts. Think bands like Soul Grind, In Tha Umbra, Maldoror, Necromass, and Art Inferno though Sakahiter lack the occult flair present in a few of these. “Triumphant” is how I would frequently describe it though thankfully there’s a comprehensive infrastructure built around these moments of raw elation and sword-raised victory so they never feel rigidly locked into a single mood or expression.

While there is damn good musicianship all around, from the thick pulse of the bass to the impressive arsenal brought by the guitars, this never really feels progressive or subgenre-technical. Many of the classic Nordic bands like debut Dark Tranquility or sophomore Sentenced would lean towards that while Italians like Soul Grind and Maldoror took this even further. In Sakahiter’s case, aggression is key. Pacing is relentless without entering norsecore territory, unafraid of breaks in the onslaught to explore reflective melodic patterns. They’re particularly skillful with somewhat folksy sounding, heavy metal-esque segments that pop up, nostalgic in their atmosphere and unashamedly romanticist in their sentimentality. These midtempo portions are akin to rays of sun after a storm, gaining their power through contrast and resolving the preceding chaos.

This does not mean that at its fastest it’s a blur. Sakahiter is tremolo-heavy yet the elements of blunt-ended rhythm ends up strengthening their melodic narrative. Lower register attack typically serves as the baseline out of which soaring tremolo melodies emerge from, letting themselves soar only after the rhythmic backdrop has established a launchpad for takeoff. “Aggressive” in Sakahiter’s case isn’t a single setting but comes in differing grades. It can be heartbeat-pulse thrashy riffing broken up by short blasts acting akin to fills, smooth tremolo runs letting the atmosphere sink into a section, but rarely is it ever too comfortable. Jarring pinch harmonics throw a wrench into an otherwise sleek riff, abrupt pauses dot a relentlessly charging pattern, and simple but elaborate polyphonies double down on the intensity of a particular theme. They aren’t afraid to play straight up crunchy rhythm either; as a whole this is a beefy take on meloblack-death genre hybridization. Samnite Black Metal can feel like it belongs in the realm of bands like Dungeon Serpent, Cemetery Dwell, or recent Desparity in spite of being half-black metal, simply due to being every bit as forceful.

Special attention is due for drummer Alastor and his snappy playing. He’s a fairly fill-heavy drummer and a lot of his patterns, while straightforward, almost melt into the sorcery unfolding on the stringed front. Don’t think this makes him ignorable; he has a knack for tom fills that while explosive are tasteful with just enough flair to accent a particular riff without escalating into showiness. It gives the album an occasionally militant feel, warlike while announcing the march of polyphony-wielding warriors. He streamlines if only to make the moments of action and dexterity all the more impactful. He is by all means a power-oriented drummer yet he juggles the impressive array of moods and intensities with a natural fluidity, even if the cymbals can feel a little weak in the mix. A minor price to pay for his overwhelmingly stellar drum performance, among the finest this year.

While the atmosphere of the album is that of black metal, song structure is where its death metal heritage is strongest. Samnite Black Metal uses a recursive approach to song structure playing repetition and development against one another. The melodicism of their subgenre’s namesake forms the core idea, typically carried by lengthier tremolo patterns but at times slower articulation and phrasing. A revolving door of sharply differing patterns and tempos breaks them up, out of which they re-emerge in a cyclic dance with a lot of its roots in early Swedish death metal. Repetition tempers and solidifies the base of every song while new patterns and riffs emerge to deviate and elaborate upon it before sinking back into the cycle. This results in a varied dialogue between themes, almost maze-like if a maze of widely spaced pillars rather than narrowly walled-in corridors. There is a lot packed into the songs, especially the longer ones, but the rhythm-melody contrast consistently makes clear their compositional direction. Any ambiguity implied by its chromatic rhythms always has its answer in evocative consonance. It is outright celebratory in nature and the songs bathe in the radiance of the pagan heritage that breathes once more through this album’s many twists and turns.

Samnite Black Metal’s 9 songs are filled with a great deal of individual character and its songwriting subsequently is another immense strength. “Lex Sarcata” is the closest they come to “techy” as it fires off with oddly-timed drum fills and cymbal accents when not lacing jagged pinch harmonics under tremolo riffs or sudden pauses amidst restless barrages. “Cutilia (Sacred Lake)” develops a seemingly stock opening riff into a particularly lengthy and warm, heroic melody before cutting off to duel it against storming chords and background tremolo strumming. Opener “Ver Sacrum” winds its way forward with an impressive array of skank-and-blast interchanges, letting a core melody build up until a well-deserved, fistpump-inducing climax.

Taking the cake for their finest hour is “Mors Vitam Vicit” and the feast of variety it contains. The swaying, pseudo-doomy opening with its lone lead guitar hanging over delicate chords morphs into a moderate-speed blasting section. An ambiguous midtempo riff breaks it up with sharp snare fills before leaving us amidst a strangely rocky set of chords as a ghostly harmony weaves its way through. It’s the slowest song on the album with even its fastest segments almost feeling as if they transpire in bullet time. This is not to its detriment; the uptick in weightiness whether thematic or in terms of musicality makes it feel like observing the rituals of some long-forgotten people in shadowy woods. They even manage find the space for a short folky clean guitar interlude that segues back into a slower riff—variation of the same idea that helps carry the epic to a resolute if relaxed end.

Sakahiter is both an example of a comeback album that serves as a peak of a band’s career rather than a fumble and also a well-kept secret. They are very much a band rooted in the past whether the classics of Nordic and Italian metal or the Samnite people themselves. Neither of these things render them as dated or overly familiar. Competence after all will eternally outlast novelty and the 25 year wait for an album has honed them well to embody this idea. It is not a cryptic album in spite of its obscure subject matter and if anything, is exoteric rather than esoteric. Every idea is executed with a clarity in its direction and a vigour in performance outstripping many younger counterparts. It’s not remotely avant-garde in character but is defined by their various idiosyncrasies and an unfaltering sense of direction. Many have fused black and death metal over the years. Few of them have been able to harness the strengths of both so naturally that you sometimes forget you’re listening to a hybrid.