Sarcator - Swarming Angels & Flies - review
Sarcator - Swarming Angels & Flies - review
Band
Sarcator Album
Swarming Angels & Flies Style
Blackened thrash metal Release date
January 17, 2025 Tracklist
01. Burning Choir02. Comet Of End Times
03. Swarming Angels & Flies
04. The Deep Ends
05. Where The Void Begins
06. The Undercurrent
07. Closure
08. Unto Sepulchres
A review by
AndyMetalFreak January 24, 2025
Sarcator are a Swedish blackened thrash band that formed in 2018. The band name derives from the fusion of Sarcófago and Kreator, which is a fitting representation for a style that combines both the raw old-school blackened energy and ferocious teutonic thrash established by those bands. The foursome, who are still barely in their 20s, now turn their attention towards their third full-length offering Swarming Angels & Flies. Even from the early stages of their career, signs of becoming a real force in the Swedish thrash scene have been evident, and hopes are high for this album unlocking their true inner potential.
Swarming Angels & Flies essentially follows suit from the band's previous 2 releases, combining a modern blackened thrash and black'n'roll approach in the vein of Hellripper and Midnight, with the extreme teutonic intensity and ferocity of Sodom and Kreator. Their aggressive youthful enthusiasm and charisma clearly shows throughout this record, much as it did on their two previous albums. However, this new effort sees the band take things a step further by introducing more variation and proficiency in songwriting. "Burning Choir" immediately throws you into the midst of the album's high-end intensity and ferocious chaos through razor sharp riffs, breakneck tempo shredding leads, and aggressive blackened gnarly vocals. This is driven by a relentless, rampaging rhythm section. The sheer level of intensity and ferocity continues at an unprecedented breakneck speed through to the very end of the album's 45-minute duration, which I can honestly say, seems like it's over in a flash.
The album may start off all guns blazing, but it truly hits its stride in quality around the midway mark, particularly on the standout song "Where The Void Begins". At 7 minutes in length, this is their most structurally varied song, containing some of the band's best songwriting to date. The softer passages come as a surprise on this song, as what we've heard up to this point is just pure breakneck ferocity. The riffs throughout also contain no shortage of memorable riff melodies, and the closing solo is also a noticeable highlight. The outro of this song then effortlessly merges into "The Undercurrent", simply allowing no time for respite. The next standout song for me is the instrumental "Closure". Much like "Where The Void Begins", this begins in calmer fashion, but the twanging Western-style guitar work, that's unlike anything featured on the rest of the album, is what I find intriguing most of all.
Swarming Angels & Flies is a clear step towards a great and successful career for the remarkably young band Sarcator. The album as a whole is exceptionally performed, and the energy levels and intensity from beginning to end never let off steam. However, there are a few moments that uplift the album's overall quality, giving just hints of what this band can really achieve, and it's through songs such as "Where The Void Begins" that I can see where the band's true potential lie. Although I don't believe they've quite reached their peak as yet, Sarcator are still a young, fresh act that I can really see prospering in modern thrash if they continue down this path.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written on 24.01.2025 by
Written on 24.01.2025 by
An honest review that you don't necessarily have to agree with. Comments
Comments:
2
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Posts: 8256
I agree 100% with the songs you singled out ("Where The Void Begins" and "Closure"). I think the part of the album from song #4 to #7 is the strongest.
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Posts: 475  |
Posts: 475
Nice review Andy. I find that out tastes don't often align but I also thought this record was impressive. I didn't particularly care for the instrumental unfrotunately but it was just my first listen so that could change. I posted my thoughts on the albums page. Thanks for the read
---- 2025 Death Metal
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