Sannhet
{{Short description|American experimental metal band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Sannhet
| image = Sannhet - Band photo late 2013.jpg
| image_size =
| landscape = yes
| alt =
| caption = Sannhet in 2013
| alias =
| origin = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| years_active = {{start date|2010}}–present
| label = Sacrament, Consouling Sounds, The Flenser, Hospital Productions, Profound Lore Records
| associated_acts =
| website =
| current_members = *John Refano
- AJ Annunziata
| past_members = *Christopher Todd{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ljS_SFrl6/|title=@made__self's Instagram profile post: "Fall 2019. In a turn of unfortunate events, I will no longer be a part of @sannhetbk - to be clear, this decision was not made on my own as…|website=Instagram.com|accessdate=16 November 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.omgnyc.net/2020/03/sannhet-played-rough-trade.html|title=Sannhet played Rough Trade|website=Omgnyc.net|accessdate=16 November 2020}}
}}
Sannhet (Norwegian for "truth"){{Cite web|url=https://en.bab.la/dictionary/norwegian-english/sannhet|title=SANNHET - Translation in English - bab.la|website=En.bab.la|accessdate=16 November 2020}} is an American experimental metal band from Brooklyn, New York, United States. The band formed in 2010 by John Refano, Christopher Todd, and AJ Annunziata. They have released three full-length albums as well as a variety of EPs and singles which were collected together and released in their 2016 compilation album Young Death. Sannhet has become known for their elaborate live shows which combine their "dense" sound with lights, projected visualizations and rhythm-synced strobes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sannhet-mn0003100922/biography|title=Sannhet {{!}} Biography & History {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2016-09-10}} They are an instrumental band with a sound that combines black metal, sludge metal, and shoegaze with the structures and orders of post-rock and post-punk, though unlike other bands with similar influences, they tend to favor shorter song structures.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17633-sannhet-known-flood/|title=Sannhet: Known Flood|website=Pitchfork.com|accessdate=16 November 2020}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.thrashhits.com/2013/07/album-sannhet-known-flood/ |title=Album: Sannhet - Known Flood | Thrash Hits |access-date=2014-07-11 |archive-date=2014-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714232731/http://www.thrashhits.com/2013/07/album-sannhet-known-flood/ |url-status=dead }}
History
The band released their debut album Known Flood on February 19, 2013, through Sacrament, an imprint owned by staff at the Saint Vitus bar.{{Cite web|url=http://flavorwire.com/373136/saint-vitus-sannhet-and-sacrament-music-deliver-brooklyn-metals-state-of-the-union|title=Saint Vitus, Sannhet, and Sacrament Music Deliver Brooklyn Metal's State of the Union|date=2013-02-25|language=en-US|access-date=2016-09-10}} The album has been described as "pristine post-rock with dirty noise and hardcore, and it wouldn't be wrong to affix the word "blackened" to the overall sound."{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14764-sannhet-moral/|title="Moral" by Sannhet Review {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|access-date=2016-09-10}} Pitchfork's Grayson Currin gave the album a positive review, writing that "each of the longer numbers roll several themes and transitions into a relatively compact framework, again avoiding boredom by a bustle of activity. “Slow Ruin,” one of two that makes it past seven minutes, volleys from field recordings to Touch and Go throb, from post-millennial blackened grandeur to an expansive noise fadeaway."{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17633-sannhet-known-flood/|title=Sannhet: Known Flood Album Review {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|access-date=2016-09-10}} On October 14 they released a music video for the track 'Slow Ruin' directed by Aj Annunziata.{{Cite web|url=http://noisey.vice.com/blog/watch-sannhets-new-video-for-slow-ruin-and-begin-your-descent-into-madness|title=Watch Sannhet's New Video for "Slow Ruin" and Begin Your Descent into Madness |website=Noisey.vice.com|date=14 October 2013 |access-date=2016-09-10}} On November 12 they released a two-track EP 'Lions Eye', described as funneling "both brawn and versatility into likably finite spaces."{{Cite web|url=http://www.apochs.net/sannhet-stream-new-digital-single-lions-eye/|title=Sannhet Stream New Digital Single "Lions Eye" - Apoch's Metal ReviewApoch's Metal Review|website=Apochs.net|access-date=2016-09-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/16331-sannhet-lions-eyeyou-thy_/|title="Lions Eye/You Thy_" by Sannhet Review {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|access-date=2016-09-10}}
The band released their second album Revisionist on March 3, 2015, through The Flenser. A number of tracks including "Lost Crown" were premiered on music websites in advance of the album's release.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1729410/sannhet-lost-crown-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/|title=Sannhet – "Lost Crown" (Stereogum Premiere)|website=Stereogum.com|date=2015-01-15|access-date=2016-09-10}} The album was received well, with positive reviews and coverage by Pitchfork, Stereogum, MetalSucks, Metal Injection, and more.{{Cite web|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/av/listen-to-sannhets-revisionist-because-its-a-spacey-black-metal-masterpiece|title=Listen To SANNHET's Revisionist Because It's A Spacey Black Metal Masterpiece - Metal Injection|date=2015-02-25|language=en-US|access-date=2016-09-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20098-revisionist/|title=Sannhet: Revisionist Album Review {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|access-date=2016-09-10}} Critics noted the experimental, diverse sound of the album, such as the "pummeling black-metal drums", "tense rhythmic lock of death metal", and the "astral ascendance of space-rock." Pitchfork's editor Brandon Stosuy named it the 10th best metal album of 2015, while Jayson Greene nominated it as one of the most overlooked albums of 2015 and Ian Cohen named the title track 'Best New Track'.{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9772-the-best-metal-albums-of-2015/|title=The Best Metal Albums of 2015 {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|date=21 December 2015 |access-date=2016-09-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9678-overlooked-records-2015/|title=Overlooked Records 2015 {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|date=2 July 2015 |access-date=2016-09-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17350-sannhet-revisionist/|title="Revisionist" by Sannhet Review {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|access-date=2016-09-10}} In a review of Revisionist, the New York Times described the album as "many layers of guitar [forming] dissonant harmonies; sections grow and vary, never fully returning to where they started. Sometimes they are abstract, with found-sound voice recordings and clouds of echo. They’re also easy to follow, emotionally clear."{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/arts/music/review-new-releases-by-kelly-clarkson-sannhet-and-asleep-at-the-wheel.html|title=Review: New Releases by Kelly Clarkson, Sannhet and Asleep at the Wheel|last1=Ratliff|first1=Jon Pareles, Ben|date=2015-03-02|last2=Chinen|first2=Nate|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-09-10}} On April 18 the band performed alongside Prurient, Andy Stott and others as part of Pitchfork's Tinnitus Music Series in Brooklyn, New York.{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/58824-prurient-andy-stott-sannhet-to-play-tinnitus-show-presented-by-pitchforks-show-no-mercy-and-blackened-music/|title=Prurient, Andy Stott, Sannhet to Play Tinnitus Show Presented by Pitchfork's Show No Mercy and Blackened Music {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|date=12 March 2015 |access-date=2016-09-10}}
On June 30, 2016, the band released a compilation album titled Young Death, drawing together and remastering rare early material and unreleased material spanning from 2008 to 2013. It was released digitally by the band themselves while Hospital Productions issued the album on vinyl.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sorroweternal.com/news/sannhet-plan-young-death-release-join-adult-swim-singles-series|title=Sannhet plan 'Young Death' release, join Adult Swim Singles series|website=Sorroweternal.com|access-date=2016-09-10}} Later that same year, the band released the single 'Short Life' as part of Adult Swim's 2016 Singles compilation series, confirming that they are working on a third album.{{Cite web|url=https://svbterranean.net/2016/07/06/sannhet-release-young-death-rarities-compilation/|title=SANNHET Release "Young Death" Rarities Compilation|date=2016-07-06|website=Svbteeranean.net|access-date=2016-09-10}} Pitchfork wrote that "the four-minute track bears a fresh coat of corpse paint, teeming with pulverizing blast beats and tremolo guitars that wail like professional mourners."{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18391-sannhet-short-life/|title="Short Life" by Sannhet Review {{!}} Pitchfork|website=Pitchfork.com|access-date=2016-09-10}} Stereogum described it as "a scorching four-minute instrumental, with a focus on speed-picking doused in reverb and an impressive, anchoring drum pattern."{{Cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1884196/sannhet-short-life/mp3s/|title=Sannhet – "Short Life"|website=Stereogum.com|date=2016-06-22|access-date=2016-09-10}}
Members
Discography
;Studio albums
- Known Flood (2013; Sacrament (vinyl/digital), Consouling Sounds (CD))
- Revisionist (2015; Flenser Records)
- So Numb (2017; Profound Lore Records)
;EPs
- Sannhet (2011)
- Lions Eye (2013; Sacrament)
- Short Life (2019; Profound Lore)
;Compilations
- Young Death (2016; Hospital Productions)