Following the release of sophomore album Bestial Supremacy back in 2008, Norwegian five-piece Sarkom have left a couple of EPs and a split with Urgehal in their wake and whilst this may have temporarily sated the appetites of fans of their depraved and brutish sound, it didn’t keep it at bay for long. So it seems that third full length Doomsday Elite (Dark Essence) could not come soon enough.
This picks up pretty much where Bestial… left off – a snarling maelstrom of furious tremolo picking and savage riffs, wall-to-wall blast beats, blood curdling vocals and the occasional smattering of funeral-esque keys. This is by no means an original effort, but Sarkom make no claims to be. This is eight tracks of angry, provocative hate-filled aggression.
Following the pattern of albums past, the relentless thrashing is spliced with slower, atmospheric passages – most notably on ‘I Utakt Med Gud’ (roughly translated to ‘in league with god’) – providing a welcome respite from the audio hammering your eardrums have already endured. This is true Norwegian black metal to its very core – no gimmicks, no holds barred, just pure blackened terror.
7/10
Angela Davey