Sarcator – Swarming Angels & Flies
Release Date: 17th January 2025
Label: Century Media Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Thrash, Old School Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Extreme Metal.
FFO: Sodom, Kreator, Hellripper, Midnight, Bewitcher, Demiser.
Review By: Rick Farley
Hailing from Sweden, where it seems there is and never will be any shortage of great metal bands new or old. Sarcator, this exciting, blackened thrash outfit, is on the fast track to being the modern kings of extreme, old school thrash metal. Each member is somewhere in their early twenties and have already released two other full length albums, each bringing to the table diverse musical elements mixed in with their extreme take on thrash metal. These brutal young lads seem to know a thing or two about high intensity metal. Leaning overall somewhere between Sodom, Midnight, and classic American thrash. Sarcator being name wise a combination of Sacrófago and Kreator, while musically combining all of these band influences mentioned with elements of hard rock and traditional heavy metal flourishes into a fresh, crisp, and infectious record. Keeping from being pigeonholed as a straight genre album. To put it simply, Sarcator are here to rip your head off with whatever means possible.
Swarming Angels & Flies is the bands third full length album set for release January 17th, 2025, via Century Media Records. The fact that these guys drew the interest of a huge label with such young members means there’s something special going on. Scaling this record back from the previous albums to being a more straight to the point, aggressive, in your face attack, put’s an insane focus on songwriting that is not always present even with much older bands. So, let’s strap in and hope you have a good chiropractor.
Right from the first few seconds of Burning Choir, Sarcator comes out balls to the wall with sharp-edged riffs, nasty harsh vocals, and relentlessly pummelling drums. Swarming leads, brutalizing chaos and belligerent attitude immediately sets the tone for one hell of a fierce ride. Tracks one through four are all perpetual beaters, with Sarcator never letting their foot off the gas, going from wicked titbits of heavy metal inspired licks, hard rock’s charging swagger and delirious melodicism charred in with their venomous aggression.
Where the Void Begins, while not only being a much-needed breather from the non-stop ferocity, but it also stands as my favourite on the album. There’s a swampy acoustic passage that starts out the track, which leads into a slow building, crunchy mid-pace riff that retains a hard rock feel that’s undeniable. Memorable hooks, with tribalistic drums and a slow burning exuberance, puts me in the mind of a gunslinger who’s about to hit the saloon after gunning down his enemy. Possibly an odd description, I know, but you’ll get what I mean when you hear it. Or maybe not.
Track six The Undercurrents returns to the terror-stricken thrash beatings, with its sneering blackened tremolo riffs and obliterating high pace. It’s a shocking transition from the previous track, but somehow this band makes it work with their thrilling rule breaking creativity.
Closure is where I get a little confused. On the surface, it’s a cool track, albeit six minutes long and an instrumental. It kind of meanders on without a lot of focus. Strangely it does fit the vibe of the record, but on its own, it’s really different sounding. You can be the judge for yourself, but the motivation behind this track leaves me guessing. Maybe that’s the point.
Still, Swarming Angels & Flies as a whole stands as a fresh update on old school thrash metal. It’s a fun record without sounding like a party, which runs too rampant in this genre. It’s arrogant, nasty, raw, extreme and wants to fiercely explode your body with its nightmarish, 200 mph Hell train. This band has a bright future ahead of them. Check this one out.
(4 / 5)
