Hurrah! Sarkom is back with album number four, entitled Anti-Cosmic Art, and once again it’s a great release from the Norwegian black metallers.
Sarkom do black metal and they do it well. There’s nothing fancy or technical about their delivery, but that’s what makes the album so good – the lack of gimmicks means that the music needs to be powerful to leave an impression on you, and Sarkom have absolutely achieved this. Anti-Cosmic Art may only feature seven songs, but each track brings something different to the album whilst simultaneously joining together to form part of a bigger picture.
The filthy-sounding guitars at the start of Black Metal Necrophilia are a particular highlight of the album; they give the song a gritty and rather disgusting vibe and fit in rather nicely with the subject matter of the song. Additionally, the snarled vocals that follow very soon afterwards are absolutely stunning – they really help to give the track some extra bite, and slot in very nicely to ensure this is a song that you won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
Admittedly, Sarkom don’t exactly reinvent the wheel with this album, but in all honesty they don’t need to. By now, they know what works for them and what doesn’t, and have definitely played to their strengths with Anti-Cosmic Art. Very nicely done!
8/10
