Sarcator “Swarming Angels and Flies”
Swarming Angels & Flies will be released on all physical & digital formats on January 17th via Century Media Records
The legacy that the early thrash pioneers of the 80’s have left on music is undeniable. Not only was the music groundbreaking, shocking, and face meltingly fast, but the compositions themselves were something to marvel at. Unbelievable still is the fact that some of the most iconic albums in the genre were written and recorded by members in their late teens/early 20s. Iconic bands like Metallica, Sarcófago, & Sodom are prime examples. Fast forward more than three decades and it is rare to find bands that are in that demographic who are composing their own groundbreaking music akin to the thrash legends listed above. However, there are outliers among us, and the members in Sarcator are part of the few.
The speed demon quartet hails from Trollhättan, Sweden and quickly gained popularity for their vicious reinvigoration of the Teutonic thrash sound with an emphasis on the blackened atmosphere. Their debut EPs were compiled into a collection called Visions of Purgatory in 2019 and leaned heavily towards the more traditional blackened thrash style, while their debut self-titled album in 2020 emphasized the death/thrash mix characterized by Teutonic thrash. It wasn’t until their second album, 2022’s Alkahest, where the band began to incorporate a few additional elements to their sound which added a richness to their already masterful execution of the source genres. Boasting an impressive 14,000 listeners on Spotify, a 2020 nomination for “Best Rock/Metal Album” on the Swedish music awards P3 Guld, and multiple shows with notable acts like Witchery, Hellripper, & Cloak, the hype surrounding their third album is palpable.
Swarming Angels & Flies is a dynamic eight song trip into realms of uncompromised brutality and intricate compositions that continue incorporating an eclectic mix of sounds from other subgenres without compromising the core identity of the band. Sarcator explained in a recent press release:
“We wanted to highlight the most aggressive and extreme parts of us, but we still wanted to work with dynamics, so you still have elements of classic rock and post-punk, which we started experimenting with on the last record. There is no question that it’s our most intense, brutal, and rawest creation yet - It's not really a genre album and we like to keep it that way."
The stand out song from the first half of the record was “Comet of End Times.” It starts off with a classic blacked thrash intro that bends into one of the most creative riffs of the album that is both evil and catchy. The vocal stylings of Mateo Tervonen are a distinct homage to Antichrist from Sarcófago, a blackened rasp and howl with death metal inspired mids. The group adds an additional ravenous edge to key passages in the lyrics by doing group harsh vocals; a common trope in the thrash genre overall. Short, tasteful guitar solos weave in and out throughout the song, which add a sense of urgency and danger to the composition before concluding with a blackened melodic passage that fades to silence. There is a careful balance between blistering fast riffing, blackened melodies, and dynamic movements that add space between different ideas in the song. An additional way Sarcator has added dynamics to the flow of the album is by composing songs that are more mid-tempo, groovy, and infuse sounds more synonymous with traditional heavy metal. On the second half of the record, “Where The Void Begins” opens with a spooky, dark western acoustic intro which morphs into a mid-tempo thrash riff. This reminds me of the compositional choices that Metallica’s “The Call Of Ktulu” follows; yet another poignant homage to the legends. The drumming, although quite unrelenting on most songs, drives forward the song with purposeful tribal drum beats and groovy cymbal work. The chunky bass is commanding throughout the track and compliments the epic dark atmosphere oozing from the instrumentation. This being the longest song on the album gives the band the opportunity to drift off into longer melodic instrumental passages to show off more of their guitar chops.
Some reviewers of Sarcator’s back catalogue have pointed out that the flow of past albums have been hard to digest; often stating that songs either have too many ideas jam-packed in them, or that the vibe from one song to the next changes drastically to the point of whiplash. Those who hold that position will find listening to Swarming Angels & Flies equally as challenging. In particular, the transitions between songs five through eight, move from the expected face ripping blackened thrash style to a groovier and proggy mid-tempo heavy metal style; even including a fully instrumental track. At times, it sounded like I was listening to two different bands on a playlist rather than a cohesive album, which in this case was forgivable because each song was engaging by its own merits. However, if a listener is coming into this album expecting a full on assault from start to finish, I fear they will be disappointed. Compositionally, I do not share the opinion that the songs are bloated and feel that they are written to showcase a more dynamic approach to the genre as quoted in the earlier press release.
Sarcator derive their name from the fusion of Sarcófago and Kreator; both critical influences on the band members and overall musical direction of the project. It is clear that their talent, dedication to the genre, and youthful vigor, have all contributed to catapulting them into the international scene. Put simply, the bright torch of blackened thrash, that we all hoped would be passed down to worthy successors, is being carried by young musicians like the ones who make up Sarcator. Rather than being a simple cut and paste from the 80’s classics, they execute the signature sound at a masterful level and then build on top of that foundation to create something more groundbreaking and unexpected.
SCORE: 4 / 5
FFO: Sodom, Hellripper, Sarcofago
You can pre-order your physical or digital copy on Century Media’s Bandcamp today.
