SABBAT Guitarist Issues Year-End Update

Guitarist Simon Jones of the reactivated British thrashers SABBAT has issued the following update.

"Well, here we are ... New Year's Day 2008 and we can look back at 2007 with a feeling of pride and thankfulness. Proud once again to be part of SABBAT, proud of what we've achieved this past year and thankful that people still want to see what we are all about (would have hated to have made the effort to squeeze in to that little black number and no one turn out). This time last year we had just done a warm up gig and three support dates with CRADLE OF FILTH. How we survived that little episode I'll never know; humping gear, squeezing into a transit (and stage clothes),re-learning stagecraft (eh?),and at our age too! Mind you I'll never forget looking out at the crowd as we took to the stage at the London Astoria......how many faces? Did anyone care? Or remember? Or care to remember?

"We soon started to find out as offers of festival appearances gathered apace. We didn't accept everything offered aiming to play quality events and perhaps enjoy things a little bit more this time around.

"First up was the Keep It True fest, southern Germany April 14th. If anyone can recall, spring 2007 was particularly warm and boy we sweated a few pounds off thrashing to a sold-out venue. It was great to share the bill with LAAZ ROCKET and DIAMOND HEAD too. After this gig Frazer [bass] broke the news that he wouldn't be doing any more gigs. Gizz Butt would take his place from now on. There was no pressure laid on Frazer; it was his decision and the rest of us respected it, after all we had got back together to play metal and enjoy it. If it wasn't working for him then so be it. Miraculously Gizz breathed new life into SABBAT as a band and brought a new pespective to the songs. Man, were we ready to kick some serious ass now! So, invigorated we played Day of Death, County Laois, Ireland July7, Wacken Open Air, Germany, August 3, Bloodstock Open Air, August 18, Up From the Ground, Germany August 24, Hole In the Sky, Bergen, Norway, August 25, Sweden Rock (on a cruise ship in the Baltic sea) October 18, Hard Rock Hell Minehead November 10, and A Midwinter's Day Bradford December 10.

"It has been a huge honour for us as a band to play all these shows, and you can be assured we have enjoyed each experience to the max. Looking forward to 2008 as we already have a date in Germany in February and a week in the USA during April.

"Dani Filth, you have a lot to answer for!"

Sanctuary Records last year reissued two classic SABBAT albums: "History of a Time to Come" (1988) and "Dreamweaver" (1989). The remastered CDs contain audio recordings from the band's 1990 concert in East Berlin, which was previously released as the official "The End of the Beginning" video.

Professionally filmed video footage of SABBAT performing at last year's Bloodstock Open Air festival, which took place August 16-18 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England, can be viewed below.