Sarke - Endo Feight (2024)

Sarke has always had those weird, interesting album titles, but Endo Feight ("End of Eight") is either the best-planned, or most purely prophetic of them, since this would prove the last of their studio efforts and it might have been set up that way before it was even recorded. Fear not, though, this album is an absolute banger, a celebration of all that had come before it, with a few hooks of its own but largely serving to solidify their consistent track record. The lineup is still the four 'classic' guys that had been with the band the most: Nocturno Culto on the vocals, Sarke on the bass, also returning to his traditional drum role from his other bands; Steinar on the guitars and Anders on the keys.

Everything is on the table here, the structured and simplified black/thrash which is more drawn from that old Swiss school than so many of the other bands in the style which mimic your Venoms, Slayers or early German thrash records. The proggy influences here aren't always worn on the sleeves so much as they are packed into the meatier riffing progressions, but you also get a lot of those amazing synths and pianos, showing the same restraint Anders always does. These create the dramatic atmospheres the guitars themselves wouldn't be capable of in their current configurations, without ever stepping on anyone. There are some choppy tunes here with a lot of chugging, like "Death Construction", or darker, bluesy grooves as in the closer "Macabre Embrace", and they even toss us an almost pure trad black metal track with "In Total Allegiance" which only adds to the sort of ouroboros vibe of keeping their endgame consistent with their opening salvo, or in this case, their roots.

Nocturno sounds amazing, and I will truly miss his voice in this project, even though I can still experience his work in Darkthrone. But that's the weird thing about Endo Feight. I usually feel some loss when a band I love dissolves. In this case, I feel like Sarke, NC and company really explored this dimension they wanted to splice up between black, thrash, doom, 70s rock, prog, and so forth. Nothing more is owed. Or needed. The closing tolls of "Macabre Embrace" say it all. They gave us EIGHT albums that I've ranked from merely 'very good' to superb, and other than a small handful of tracks which one might relegate to the 'just okay' category, I could listen to any of these in its entirety without needing to skip anything. That's pretty high praise, and the fact that these albums are stamped with a timelessness through their blend of styles and top notch production ensures they are nothing I will ever leave behind. I salute you, gentlemen, one of the best and most consistent bands most people hand and will have never heard of. Success in all your other projects, and thank you for this amazing slew of music that I can never repay in more than praise.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (Resting in the damp ground)

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Sarke - Allsighr (2021)

Allsighr is the first Sarke album where I detect a hint of color to the cover choice. Maybe it's just my imagination that there's a bit of blue painted in there with the blacks and grays and whites, maybe even a little brown, but it makes a little bit of aesthetic since as the band seems to have become so confident and proficient in its sound that it's almost like they are emerging from some larval stage. I don't think one is as expansive to their sound as Gastwerso, but its clearly one of their best-rounded, memorable efforts that takes all which has come before as a toolset to write some entirely kickass material which, for me, almost rivals Viige Urgh.

Yes, the whole enchilada of the Norwegians' sonic package is brought to bear upon their fanbase, and anyone else who has the pleasure of encountering their incredibly underrated catalog of music. The first clip of "Bleak Reflections" will have you thinking they've embraced their more traditional black metal roots, but that is merely a ruse, as they will soon dial it back into the mix of minimalistic thrash aesthetics, black & roll stylings, a little progressive rock in the use of several of the synths and song structures, and that doom vibe which has never taken over their style completely but deserves mention in the conversation. The tunes here are very well composed, balanced, always possessive of the band's unique mystique ("Funeral Fire", "Through the Thorns"), and never shying away from trying a riffing pattern they haven't hit upon before. Cato Bekkevold (ex-Enslaved) does the drums here and they sound as crisp and professional as any of his forebears.

Allsighr is pretty amazing. The production is clean and effective, every note hitting exactly where it needs to on your aural palate, and every instrument and vocal mixed with lethal clarity. The album thrives in both its harsher, grooving moments and the calms, of which there are a number in the intros/segues as well as the ambient/piano piece "Sleep in Fear". It's extremely accessible, which is another reason I'm shocked that this band never got much huger than they did. Perhaps it's just not 'extreme' enough if we're talking about the black metal genre as a whole. It's not going to spin heads off necks, it isn't blasting at a million miles an hour, the vocals are cutting but never overbearing, the symphonic ingredients are a minor embellishment and not a Wagnerian tour de force. But this is SONGCRAFT, by experts, who catch vibes from the aether and ride them to dark, pleasurable heights.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (Obsessed with what's below)

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Sarke - Gastwerso (2019)

Gastwerso capitalizes on the success of Viige Urh with a few minor tweaks, but I was really satisfied that they continued with this brighter, more kinetic-sounding production style, just as clean as most of the prior albums, but here the guitar riffs sound a little more sharp and cutting. Part of this is the emphasis on some heavier material, for instance the tremolo black metal riff explosion in the middle of awesome opener "Ghost War". There's also a little more mystique to this album, perhaps a more Eastern influence to the melodies in the synthesizers that make it all a bit more exotic and evil. I don't know that this one can match its predecessor blow for blow, but it's another excellent addition to Sarke's catalog.

Again, they've got an awesome combination of opening tracks to grab you, but where the album starts to get real interesting is "Mausoleum". They've used synths plenty through the discography, and always tastefully so, adding more than subtracting, but "Mausoleum" is the first case for me where they feel as if they're really attempting an arrangement. This one feels truly symphonic, the synths scintillating, the guitars and drums working in tandem to support it, and the little wailing melodies create such a stark contrast against NC's voice and the lyrics, which have this sad simplicity and finality to them befitting the title. What a cool track, and something new in the Sarke canon. This isn't entirely representative of the album, but they've got some other experiments here like the sultry acoustics and ambiance of "The Endless Wait" and the Goth-y/sympho step of "In the Flames", which admittedly is a little goofy with the placement of the verse lyrics and such, but in a good way.

Don't worry though, if you want more of the simpler black/thrash with the keys, there are plenty of those tunes here, like "Echoes from the Ancient Crucifix" or "Rebellious Bastard", two more easy highlights for me, and the latter even devolves into an almost Western vibe. I guess Gastwerso would overall win the award for the most 'prog' album in their catalogue to its day, the one most interested in expanded the band's portfolio to avoid the redundancy that might be created by the typical black & white cover images and overall minimalism. But that's not a bad thing, because it's largely fucking awesome; not every left turn here works equally, but overall the satisfaction level is quite high and it's another I often head back to.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (Blocking all the sight)

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Sarke - Viige Urh (2017)

If I had any reservations or mixed memories of the third or fourth albums, there could be no such confusion with Viige Urh, a record I fell in love with immediately, frontloading some of the catchiest material of the band's entire career. Straight from the opening title track, it brought me right back to what I enjoyed about the debut Vorunah, only performed here with a little more zest and energy. Simple, memorable black/thrash, obviously derived from that Hellhammer school of through, or Darkthrone, NC's main band, but given added breadth and atmosphere due to the tasteful use of synthesizers to make a more dramatic chorus and also help contrast against NC's gritty vocal style, a beauty to the beast.

"Viige Urh" and "Dagger Entombed" are probably the best opening one-two punch combo for me in their whole catalogue, the former for its vital thrashing pulse, and the latter for that amazing flow of grooves and dour-sounding synth tones that almost catapult you back to some Medieval era. But this record has so much more in store for you, like the charging "Age of Sail" with that sweet opening lead guitar, "Upir" with its lopsided, lumbering groove, or the slow-rolling atmospheric doom of "Punishment to Confessions". While there is variety here, I feel that Viige Urh is one of their most unified records in execution; the songs just sort of flow together the best, not that they don't on the older efforts but here they feel more purposely planned for maximum resonance with the listener. Yes, they're pulling in some light prog rock influences among the styles they already dabbled in, but everything else is straight from the Sarke playbook that you'd recognize from the first four.

Viige Urh absolutely stomps, with a more vibrant production than its predecessor and a selection of songs that never let up in quality through the entire playtime. Where, say I could point out a few on Aruagint that wouldn't make a career playlist, I'd probably have to include this entire album. This is the first I grab when introducing someone new to the band, and it has a high rate of success, taking what's so vital about the first two and improving upon that hybrid style. Nocturno's voice is the icing on the cake, but the music itself here is strong enough that I can occasionally put that to the sideline. Amazing stuff that holds up as strongly today as the first time I listened.

Verdict: Win [9.25/10]

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Sarke - Bogefod (2016)

When I was deciding to complete my reviews for the Sarke discography, a band I've long loved but never openly appreciated enough, I had a false memory that Bogefod was the worst of their albums, and thus it's the one I have the least experience listening to. I think I had it confused with one of the Khold albums or something, or maybe Araguint (which is also good), because it turns out total bullshit, the product of a mind cobwebbed with too much information. Bogefod is great, a record that sticks with its predecessors in style, but benefits from some fresh energy with the addition of the Kråbøl brothers Terje and Stian on the drums and guitar respectively. You might know them from other bands like Tulus, Khold, Gjendod and their namesake Kråbøl, all of whom you probably also enjoy (or would enjoy) if you like Sarke.

Bogefod isn't a far cry from the albums before it, no, but it's a little bit more vicious due to a mix that's a little more saturated, and this applies both to the more incendiary black/thrash material like "Taken" or the mood-setting, slower songs where the synthesizer plays a more dramatic, rainy role as in "Barrow of Torolv". There are great, soothing acoustic segues, a stab at some almost opera-like ethereal fare ("Dawnin") with folk singer Beate Amundsen, and a whole lotta great riffs slathered in Nocturno Culto's not so soothing bark, which to me is like having toast in the morning after listening to 35 years of his music. It balances the Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influences that have always informed this band's style with a few moments of more dissonant black metal, doom, thrash, folk, ambiance and while it's once again not quite the measure of the first two albums, it's very damn close.

In fact, this came out the same year as Arctic Thunder, my least favorite Darkthrone record (although not bad, per se), and I like this one much more. It's a bit more consistently catchy than Aruagint, has the slightly more acidic production and, when it wants to, sounds a little more 'dangerous'. It's things like this that are the reason I'm happy to go back through and cover discographies from bands I think deserve talking about, because occasionally you'll 'rediscover' something that you were either sleeping on, wrong about or just couldn't quite remember, and you'll be the richer for it. Bogefod is, like every Sarke album, worth a listen if not outright ownership, one of the black & roll royalty bands that should appeal if you like any other band I mentioned here in this review, mid-era Satyricon, or Slegest.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (He will not let death contain his madness)

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Sarke - Aruagint (2013)

The first two Sarke records gave me something that I never knew I needed but subconsciously probably always wanted: hearing Nocturno Culto's ghastly and gritty timbre in a context beyond Darkthrone. Now, Darkthrone is one of my favorite bands ever to exist in this plane of existence (there are others, and they hold up pretty well there too), and you could honestly be forgiven for hearing Aruagint or any of this project's other offerings and mistaking them for new works by that other band, who shifts styles around sometimes for consistent reinvention. I think Sarke has a much more accessible sound in general, a hybrid of black and doom and some simpler thrash metal with a super clean and almost minimalist production.

No, the atmosphere here doesn't come through the album's mix, as it does often with NC's mainstay. It's purely through the riffs, though they do add some synth or horn sounds. Sarke enables you to focus directly on the simpler, catchy guitar patterns and that voice, which is amazing at this slower pace. NC excels with some sustain to his growls, you can really feel them out and occasionally they get a little more gruesome, but if you're a fan of his from Darkthrone, then you're going to love records like this one just to have more. The lyrics are also really cool, with a simple but poignant poetry to them much like that other band, and written largely by Thomas 'Sarke' Berglie, the drummer for Khold and Tulus who is the heart and namesake of this project. His bass is quite memorable here, not for the lines so much but for the spongey tone you can hear buzzing alongside the bottom end, like a catfish feeding from the floor of your aquarium.

This is also one of two Sarke albums that Asgeir Mickelson performs on, and he makes it all sound so easy, with a steady, grooving rock style that's a bit simpler than what you've heard him pummel out on Borknagar or Spiral Architect. Everything here is cleanly written and executed, though there are couple super simple black & roll tracks like "Strange Pungent Odyssey" or "Jaunt of the Obsessed" which aren't among the catchiest they've put out. So this album doesn't quite achieve what Vorunah or Oldarhian did for me, but there are some heaters here like "Walls of Ru", "Salvation" (that bass!), the eerie yet warm "Skeleton Sand" and memorably, grooving "Icon Usurper" to compensate and keep this pretty essential if you enjoyed the first two, or Berglie's other bands that I mentioned above. Good riffs, mostly good songs, Nocturno Culto. You had me right there.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (Dragging shattered remains)

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Sarke - Oldarhian (2011)

While I admit a certain predisposition for almost any recording the great Nocturno Culto alights his frost-tinged vocals upon, Sarke has a particular charm which exceeds even the flustering fanboy within. Part black metal, part thrash, all dowsed in calm and cautious songwriting and the atmospheric swill of backing synthesizers, there is just not a lot out there like it. Vorunah was a promising debut in 2009, managing to stand out against a superb and nigh incessant onslaught of black releases that year, and Oldarhian seems its logical followup, a spiritual successor to classic Celtic Frost for the new century. Steady, polished and strong of riff.

Similar to Vorunah, this album works best when the psychedelic miasma of its primitive contents yields a collaborative, creepy immersion. Sarke's rhythm guitars always hinge upon the familiar, yet he's got a rare talent for re-invention, stripping each pattern of notes to its core and then enforcing them with percussion, bells, chimes and epic (if cheesy) keyboard pads to the maximum effect. A drummer by nature, his beats are clean and bare, if dynamic. Nocturno does occasionally grow monotonous, as he never quite varies his grimy tonsils, but the intelligent and observant lyrics are delivered with authentic, gravel-like emotion that functions fluidly across the concourse of thrashing ballast in "Pilgrim of the Occult", "Paradigm Lost", "Flay the Wolf" and "Condemned". A few of the tracks delve into a more progressive, 70s doom style like "Novel Dawn" and "Burning of the Monoliths", or a fascinating fusion of multiple concepts like the titular "Passage to Oldarhian" with its coiled grooves and immense atmosphere.

All told, there are no slackers whatsoever on this album. It's slightly more consistent than the debut, though there were a handful of songs there that stood out more than these ("Cult Ritual" and "The Drunken Priest" come to mind). There is much to like here, especially the rich mix of the guitar and the vocals, and I was very satisfied that it was not some one off collaboration. The minimal artwork is hit or miss, the lyrics well written, but most importantly, Oldarhian steals the listener away to some cryptic otherspace, some veiled realm of antiquity accessed only by the drawl of its rambling. Sarke offers a subtle hypnosis while simultaneously rocking your face off across numerous tracts of variation, and I sincerely hope this sophomore will bring further recognition to what the pair are gestating, because I can certainly sense a primal potential here that might one day even rival (or complement) Culto's main squeeze Darkthrone. With a highly qualified live lineup now in place, there is just no limit to what might ensue.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/sarkeofficial

Sarke - Vorunah (2009)

Sarke is no newcomer to the black metal industry, having drummed with Tulus, Khold, and Old Man's Child among others. For his debut solo album he has wisely teamed up with Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone) and made excellent use of his grim vocal stylings. Sarke himself performs the rest of the instruments.

As for the material, it's a matter of returning to the roots of extreme metal and then twisting them into a personal vision. Sarke is both familiar and unusual at the same time, a hybrid of black, thrash and doom metal with some fine use of organs and keys for atmosphere. This is the perfect marriage to Culto's distinct, gravel throat, and in its own way, creepy. Also interesting is the very straightforward production on the album, it's got a mix ala some prog rock record you'd hear in the 70s. The album sounds perfectly 'clean' despite the bite of the performance. Some might assume this would sap away some of the duo's energy, yet it doesn't.

"Primitive Killing" is the leadoff track, an entirely simple black/thrash with a dash of death metal feeling to the bridge riff. Drums are kept on a simple leash while the bass is noticeable mainly for the subtle atmosphere it lends the thrash riffs. Sarke's lead work maintains this simplicity. The title track "Vorunah" is slower piece which uses keyboards to create an excellent atmosphere during the chorus. One of the best songs here. "The Drunken Priest" has a cold, slow thrashing feel with some Celtic Frost and Slayer-like tinge to note selection, and once again the keys are implemented nicely admidst the heavy riffing. "Frost Junkie" is a wasteland of doom, black and crisp thrash, while "Old" is another tune similar to the title. "Cult Ritual" is another of the best tracks, the primitive riffs make subtle changes beneath Culto's vocal and it's essentially what black metal might have felt like had it been created in the 70s... "13 Candles" creates a symphonic piano backdrop behind chords and Culto, a nice departure from the rest of the material. Album closer "Dead Universe" is the fastest piece on the album with some blast beats, otherwise it is close to the prior material.

Vorunah is a fairly killer effort but its appeal may be limited to fans of both roots black and thrash metal and 70s metal. In other words, people who are actually cool. Sarke has truly captured his own nostalgic approach to the material, and having Nocturno Culto on vocals is never a bad thing, he fits right in with the vision and his vocals aren't a far cry from his Darkthrone material. This isn't perfect, there are a few dull plodding moments on the album and certainly room for growth, so I hope this isn't a one shot.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/sarkeofficial