Following the unearthing of their first proper full-length, Burial Dimensions (originally recorded in 1994 but not officially released until 2016), the new Sarcasm long player is in a sense the payoff of a long, bumpy history that included demos, compilations, and an EP release (Scattered Ashes in 2000). Indeed, it is the full realization of the band’s blackened Swedish death metal sound, yet with an identity all its own.
While the music of all eight tracks was written by guitarist Peter Laitinen, he somehow did find that perfect balance in between that very specific sense of melody that could only be summarized as ‘typically Swedish’ (fans of the early No Fashion records catalogue will know exactly what we mean here), raging speed and brutality. With one foot firmly planted in the mid-90’s and another in the present, Sarcasm is no nostalgia trip, but a genuine return to form to that specific mix of black and death metal, before saccharine riffing and cheesy clean vocals took over and ruined it all. Moving from the melancholic leads of Embodiment of Source, they answer with the blast-o-thon that is Scars of a Land Forgotten or the epic-to-kill-all-epics that is the eight-minute-plus A Black Veil for Earth.
Track List:
Bloodsoaked Sunrise
From the Crimson Fog They Emerged
Embodiment of Source
Scars of a Land Forgotten
In the Grip of Awakening Times
Silent Waves Summoned Your Inner Being
A Black Veil for Earth
The Drowning Light at the Edge of the Dawn
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