Album Review: Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies (Century Media)

The Swedish metal quartet that is Sarcator will release their new album ‘Swarming Angels & Flies’ on January 17th,2025, via Century Media Records.

You gotta love an album start that pulls no punches. A start that is chaotic and confusing, but immediately sets the senses alight. That is what we get with Burning Choir, a cacophony of extreme noise that combines thrash, death, and black metal in an ugly, but notable way. Sarcator’s intensity is at the forefront, and they deliver a breathless explosion of heaviness with impressive aplomb.

That’s just the start though, and while the furiously wild instrumentals and garish vocals are impressive, the question becomes one of sustainability. Happily though, Sarcator’s approach is based around being tight and concise, while also battering the mind, body, and soul into oblivion. First, with unadulterated chaos and speed via Comet of End Times, where the sense of inevitable destruction is strong. Then via a thick and riffy title track, a creative showcase of head banging inducing metal with The Deep Ends, and blackened wickedness with Where the Void Begins. With the latter, no amount of soft guitar melody at the start can make this any less a worrisome listen. Yet, it’s the ending to it that really blows the mind.

Bloody enjoyable though as Sarcator do have layers to their sound and do an impressive job of varying things up as the album goes on. Each new track comes with fresh delights and one highlight proves to be The Undercurrent. All because it is so unrelenting. Even if such a word seems par for the course with this band and this album.

Sarcator make every second count and even show some progressive instrumental rock and metal flair with the penultimate track, Closure. Before wrapping up the album with a beastly blackened effort called Unto Sepulchres.

Hold on to your asses though! The main album might be done, but we have bonus tracks to talk about (if you pick up the bonus track edition). Three in fact, and three covers. Beginning with the speedy metal intensity of Anti Cimex’s Dogfight, then with a pair of heavy metal throwbacks in the form of Sarcofago’s The Black Vomit and Sadus’ Torture. High pitched screeches and all.

A lot of people are going to eat this up.

Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies Track Listing:

1. Burning Choir
2. Comet of End Times
3. Swarming Angels & Flies
4. The Deep Ends
5. Where The Void Begins
6. The Undercurrent
7. Closure
8. Unto Sepulchres
9. Dogfight (Bonus Track: Anti Cimex Cover)
10. The Black Vomit (Bonus Track: Sarcofago Cover)
11. Torture (Bonus Track: Sadus Cover)

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