Today, Turkish black metallers Sabhankra stream the entirety of their highly anticipated fifth album, Death to Traitors. Set for international release on May 21st via Saturnal Records, hear Sabhankra‘s Death to Traitors in its entirety here:
Hailing from Turkey, Sabhankra was formed in 2001 as Savaş Sungur’s personal project under the name of Constantinopolis. The project soon became regionally known for its epic musical work and its combination of folk, power, and death metal styles. Constantinopolis released its first demo, The Sudden Death, in 2002, followed by a 70-minute debut album, For the Empire, in 2003 and acquired underground vogue.
The project became a band and appeared onstage starting in 2004. Following its second stage performance, the band took the name of Sabhankra and performed at various venues throughout Turkey. Sabhankra released their debut album, Powercraft, in 2006, blending folk melodies of different cultures and winning local and international recognition. In 2006, the band released a concert DVD of its album premiere; the concert consisted of the bands Sabhankra, Necrophagist, Orphaned Land, and Samael. Between 2006-2008, the band was occupied with performances and album recordings.
By the end of 2008, Sabhankra released a promo album, To Die For a Lie, which also indicated the upcoming album Revenge. Revenge had been recorded, mixed, and mastered, but when its release was postponed, Sabhankra continued releasing new stuff, such as Our Kingdom Shall Rise by the end of 2009 and Swords of the Night in 2011.
During 2012-2013, Sabhankra played no gigs due to Savaş Sungur’s military service, and celebrated his return by releasing Seers Memoir in 2014. With Seers Memoir, the band’s sound got closer to melodic black metal. In 2016, the band re-recorded and released Revenge, followed by two live recordings released on tape. The show played with Eluveitie and Kalmah was also released as a live video.
The full-length From the Frozen Mountains was released in 2018, and Sabhankra also band released an EP, The Dream is Dead, in 2019 with the same concept. After one year of touring, with the onset of the pandemic, the band started recording their new album, Death to Traitors, which was completed in late 2020, and is set to be released on CD by Saturnal Records on May 21st.
Encompassing six songs in a searingly compact 36 minutes, Death to Traitors is undeniably Sabhankra‘s most extreme work to date. But for all its aggression, atmosphere also takes equal importance, establishing a mysticism that’s otherworldly and uniquely Sabhankra. Not for nothing, then, is the album titled Death to Traitors: this is a swift ‘n’ decisive strike upon unbelievers, and should once and for all establish Sabhankra on an international scale. If ripp(l)ing melodic black metal played with passion and precision is your vice, then Sabhankra have your fix with Death to Traitors!
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Sabhankra’s Death to Traitors
1. Call to Arms [6:21]
2. Burn Down Their Halls [5:42]
3. Death to Traitors [4:23]
4. Heavens are Fake [5:08]
5. I Came This Far For Nothing [7:25]
6. Awakened in the Dark [6:41]
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/SabhankraBand