Review by Sandre the Giant
The rebirth of old school Swedish death metal stalwarts Sarcasm in 2015 has been a pleasure to follow. After a number of demos in the early 90s, the band vanished until their ‘Burial Dimensions’ comeback, which was actually their debut full length. Since then, their musical output has gone from strength to strength, and their new record ‘Morninghoul’ is out now through Hammerheart Records.
From the moment opener ‘As Northern Gates Open’ rips through your ears and deposits your damaged brain on the table next to you, you know you are in the place for classic Swedish death metal chaos. But Sarcasm’s sound has been building and evolving since their comeback; no longer a classic tribute to the scene they were part of in the beginning, they are now taking it into new territory. The intensely melodic work of ‘Withered Memories of Souls We Mourn’ reminds me of At the Gates but with an atmospheric, almost black metal approach, There’s plenty of Dissection on the rabid melody of ‘Awareness in the Dark’, while the throbbing chainsawing power of ‘Lifelike Sleep’ will leave you diminsihed as a result. It would have been so easy to just come back and recycle old Entombed riffs, but Sarcasm’s insistence on creating a fuller, richer and more nuanced sound is admirable. My favourite is the swelling grandiosity of ‘A Lucid Dream in the Paradigm Stream’, a track that showcases just that soaring melodic black/death nature perfectly as well as somehow sounding like a Nightwish track in places. It is a fascinating album to contemplate; as other newer bands stay firmly lodged in that HM2-or-nothing mindset, these originals keep everything so fresh and vibrant.
‘Morninghoul’ reeks, of course, of classic Swedish death metal cliches but only in the most positive ways. That driving old school engine underneath a sleek, dynamic and easily more mature record has made ‘Morninghoul’ one of my more celebrated records of pure death metal this year. Sarcasm’s dedication to the craft of songwriting, as well as a growing infusion of melodic black metal influences has really helped them step out of their chosen field’s long shadow and cast their own. This is an excellent record to keep the riffs burning all year long, and reaffirms Sarcasm’s place as one of Sweden’s most reliable bearers of ancient flames.
https://www.facebook.com/sarcasmsweden
https://sarcasm-sweden.bandcamp.com/