It doesn’t feel like a great deal of time has passed since Sarke’s last release Bogefod but nevertheless the Norwegian blackened thrash outfit is back with album number five, Viige Urh, and it’s a good enough release.
Viige Urh is perhaps not the strongest release from the band but it’s still a pretty good listen with some really great elements to it. Early track Age Of Sail is a particular highlight with some excellent guitarwork throughout (the in-your-face solos will surely wind up stuck in your head) and the downright nasty-sounding vocals are phenomenal.
Meanwhile, later track Jutul features a great combination of the clean female vocals of guest singer Lena Fløitmoen paired up with the snarls of Nocturno Culto, really making the song stand out from the crowd. The extra element of melody gives the song an extra sparkle and helps the album flow better as a whole, due to the noisiness and aggression of the majority of the piece – which is of course good, but a little added variety really goes a long way.
However at times it does sound a little rushed, almost like Sarke has hurried to get this album out rather than take a little more time on it because there’s some tracks (Upir being a good example) that sound unfinished and like they need something else added to them. However despite this, Viige Urh is still good and definitely worth a listen.
8/10
