Vim Fuego There's an Australian expression for people who aren't right in the head- they've got kangaroos loose in the top paddock. It suits Sadistik Exekution perfectly: self-professed fastest death metal band in the world; abusers of the letter C, and haters of "trendy blakk metal".

There are a few things you can guarantee with any Sadistik Exekution album. It'll be loud, it'll be fast, it'll be chaotic, and most people will hate it. If you thought you knew raw production, think again. `The Magus' makes Darkthrone's `A Blaze In The Northern Sky' sound like Def Leppard's `Hysteria'. Sadistik Exekution have often mistakenly been called black metal for their more necro than necro production values, and spooky tracks like the almost-ambient "Spirits Are Komming". Rok's vocals are raspy rather than the more traditional death grunt, which could add to the confusion, but the music is total death. The riffing and solos leave most simplistic black metal for dead anyway, riding the fine line between ordered chaos and total disaster. And SadEx are fast, like they used to boldly claim.

When the band slow down a little, the sound is massive. "Agonizing The Dead" has a monster riff Obituary would be proud of, and it's the first song on the album where Sloth's drumming is properly audible. It is still a mess, with out of control harmonics and a tinny drum sound, but it wouldn't be Sadistik enough if it was clear.

Apparently, vocalist Rok dribbles a lot, so much so that he freaked out Morbid Angel's David Vincent when they toured Australia. What he's singing about is hard to decipher most of the time, but with song titles like "Sadistikally Exekuted", "Possessed Haemorrhage" and "Transneobathasorikal Disillusions of the Unknown", mouth full of saliva or not, it's hardly likely to be coherent or sensible anyway.

"Spirits Are Komming" and "I'll Kill Ya, You Bastard" are guitar drone/atmospheric tracks tacked on the end of the album, and are quite a surprise because they indicate that perhaps the Sadistik ones do possess some subtlety after all.

`The Magus' is a riotous ride through the diseased ramblings created by some sick minds, or it's a parody which is a lot of fun. Some people will get it, most won't. Sadistik Exekution probably don't care either way.