Review / 200 Words Or Less
Sadville
Make Ready the Cross

Inkblot (2006) Michael

Sadville – Make Ready the Cross cover artwork
Sadville – Make Ready the Cross — Inkblot, 2006

Tennessee natives Sadville without a doubt could be the biggest misnomer for a group. These dudes don't play sad bastard emo at all. Instead they play stoner metal with elements of doom and hardcore punk. You can only imagine the relief when I heard the music after looking at their name.

Make Ready the Cross is seven tracks long, but it flies by when you put it on your record player. A mixture of southern rock and speeding metal riffs fuels the songs. Most of the songs come off as the unwanted child of Black Sabbath, High on Fire, and Born Against. Sure, this sound has been tackled before, but what they lack in originality they make up for in politically oriented lyrics and in witty song titles. The best are "Your Zao Sticker Won't get you into Heaven Anymore" and "George Walker Bush, Texas Ranger."

Sadville delivered an unexpected LP of tunes that I can rock out to. If you're seeking some metal music that'll get your foot tapping as well as your brain thinking, grab a copy of this release.

7.0 / 10Michael • September 26, 2007

Sadville – Make Ready the Cross cover artwork
Sadville – Make Ready the Cross — Inkblot, 2006

Recently-posted album reviews

The Remote Controls

Too Tough
Fail Harmonic Records, Mom’s Basement Records (2025)

There’s a certain kind of punk band that doesn’t overthink things. No reinvention, no genre-bending manifesto, just fast songs, big hooks, and enough attitude to carry it all. Indianapolis’ The Remote Controls lean hard into that tradition on Too Tough, a record that feels less like a statement and more like a well-earned victory lap. Built on a steady diet … Read more

Sahan Jayasuriya

Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen
Feral House (2026)

For those of us who spent the mid-to-late 1980s navigating basement community halls, churches, and loveable, armpit-smelling dive bars, the name Die Kreuzen was a permanent fixture on the punk rock radar. They were the sound of the Midwest underground --too fast for the goths to do their spooky Bela Lugosi "shoo the bats away" interpretive dance, too technical for … Read more

Sewer Urchin

Global Urination
Independent (2025)

There’s a fine line between crossover thrash that feels dangerous and crossover thrash that just feels like a party. Global Urination doesn’t bother choosing because it does both loudly and without apology. St. Louis’ Sewer Urchin have been grinding since 2019, and on their latest full length they double down on everything that makes the genre work. They give us … Read more