In 2006 and 2008, Sarkom released their first two albums Aggravation Of Mind and Bestial Supremacy on the now-defunct Twilight Vertrieb label. Due to the fact it’s now almost impossible to get hold of these two releases, the decision was made to re-release them digitally with revised artwork on their new label, Dark Essence, with a physical release to follow in 2014.
As today is Throwback Thursday, we think it’s the perfect excuse for us to revisit these two albums, so we’re going to treat you to a special review of both of them.
Aggravation Of Mind (2006)
Aggravation Of Mind was the first real offering from Sarkom, following on from their 2004 demo, and it packs a real punch.
There’s something a little raw and unpolished about the album; it’s almost like Sarkom are experimenting a little within the eight tracks and are still trying to find themselves, but it certainly works well and everything gels together fantastically. In particular, the guitars on the entire release are phenomenal, both when they’re used in a more melodic approach and as an instrument to bring the noise.
One of the highlights of the album has to be Alpha Omega. It’s got one of those introductions that instantly grabs your attention and it’s a headbangingly-good example of black metal done perfectly. Everything about this track just works, but it’s the vocals that are done especially well. Unsgaard really outdoes himself on this one and there’s a great mix of low growls, nigh-on wailed yells and purely aggressive screams.
An all-round great album that simply oozes with potential and shows that Sarkom have been a force to reckon with right from the start. (9/10)
Bestial Supremacy (2008)
It quite often seems to be the case that the second album of a band’s career is usually their weakest or most difficult release to get into, and whilst Bestial Supremacy is by no means a bad album, it doesn’t quite pack the punch of Aggravation Of Mind or Doomsday Elite.
Most of the songs follow the same sort of pattern and there are a few repeating ideas dotted here and there in different tracks, so it does feel a little repetitive at times and it’s subsequently a bit of a struggle to fully get into.
However, Bestial Supremacy does feature Sarkom’s best song to date, which is the mighty-sounding title track. The fast pace of it is incredible and hearing the drums hammering away in the first half of the song makes you want to bang your head along, and that’s before we even reach the second half of the song. It has the interesting approach of containing two very distinct sections and on the outside it shouldn’t work – but yet it does. The guitar line in the second half is so catchy that it’s nigh on impossible to listen to the song without it getting stuck in your head.
Although Bestial Supremacy doesn’t showcase Sarkom at their strongest, it’s still a great album and a must-have if you’re a fan of the band. (6/10)
We also reviewed Sarkom’s latest effort Doomsday Elite, so if you haven’t quite got your Sarkom fill for today then make sure you check it out here.
