Sarkom - To Ruin Something That Was Never Meant to Be EP (2009)

Sarkom's last full-length Bestial Supremacy was a worthwhile offering of pure, vile black metal with some nasty riffing. This new 7" EP, To Ruin Something That Was Never Meant to Be, features two new tracks.

The title piece is a subdued, doomish crawler, a bleak tapestry punctured with somber vocals, a creeping march of mutes heralding the onset of its black spewing chorus. The song also features a brief horn solo, which works quite nicely. "Black Bondage Suicide", the b-side track, is more of what you'd expect from hearing the last album. Seductive, grim blasting black metal with a lot of vocal noise and the samples of screaming women. It's a fairly straightforward track, offering little in the way of memorable or truly heavy riffing, but shows the band isn't about to slow down.

This is under 10 minutes of material, so I can't recommend it unless you're already a die hard for the band. If you're new to Sarkom, start with Bestial Supremacy, it has some better songs. But this EP is listenable, at least for its interesting title track.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.sarkomsect.com/

Sarkom - Bestial Supremacy (2008)

I don't remember much about the band's debut Aggravation of Mind, but this is a worthy offering from members of Pantheon I, Urgehal, etc. Expect nothing less than the vile excellence of true Norwegian black metal.

The album opens with a pair of slower, crushing tracks. "Inferior Bleeding" plods along with a nocturnal majesty, injecting a simple but infectious speed picked riff along the verse chords. "I Call Your Name" is both glorious and desolate, driven by Unsgaard's desperate snarls. But the band isn't limited by this pace, with the title track they blast away mercilessly. Some other tracks of note here are "Parallel to a Wall of Fire", a slow and haunting piece with a few depressing clean vocals and a wicked buildup. "Revival of Torment" is pure Norwegian evil with a nice thrash break to its lead riff. "Crushing the Retrospective Dominions" is another great tune with its mug shaking verse and excellent chorus riffs. The rest of the songs round off the album well.

This is a no-brainer if you enjoy pure Norse black metal with some provocative titles and lyrics. There are no gimmicks to be had, the mix of the album is straightforward and works perfectly for the genre. This is not an original album by any means, and it's not trying to be; but they're keeping faith in the darkness and have produced a beast of an effort.

Verdict: Win (7.5/10)

http://www.myspace.com/sarkom