Review by Jeger on November 8, 2024.

Sweden's Sarcator (a combination of Sarcófago and Kreator) - a youthful, high-energy extreme metal project that doesn't necessarily fit into any concrete genre classification. For the sake of reviewing, we'll call it blackened thrash. With band members ranging in age from 19 - 25, and having already signed with international powerhouse record label, Century Media Records, these guys are truly hitting the ground running. To be signed to a major label at such a young age? Envy-inducing, to say the least. Sarcator spent a few years underground before their transition into the mainstream and have released two, soon to be three full-length studio LPs. On January 17, 2025, Sarcator will unleash Swarming Angels & Flies via the above-mentioned Century Media. 

True thrash metal is an art form beholden to tradition. What bands like Megadeth and even Kreator have become is laughable; abominations! No balls and all-flash. Their albums are gaudy and exhaustive, sanitized and shallow. I understand that artists get to a point where they cringe at the idea of reversion, but let’s not forget about a little something called artistic integrity, which waved bye-bye to these dudes a long time ago. Give me Chile’s Mayhemic or Germany’s Eradicator! Thrash metal as it was meant to be: gritty, balls-to-the-wall, and oozing unadulterated attitude. Sarcator evidently gets it, and Swarming Angels & Flies delivers the true thrash goods, but with a charred blackened edge along with the same maniacal energy that only the aforementioned Sarcófago were capable of. 

Unpredictable as an untreated terminal disease and as evil as sin, Swarming Angels & Flies terrifies, shocks, and awes. Unfathomable talent for such a young band of artists and their youthful enthusiasm radiates through every cut on the record; those precious few years when you just feel invincible and completely untouched by the blight of existence. Raunchy punk-inspired riffs and swirling leads during the intro to the opener, 'Burning Choir', quickly mutate into eviscerating progressions: mach five guitar parts, bludgeoning blasts, and lunatic vocals - obvious prodigies and adept beyond their years - not your tank-top, high-top, mullet thrash metal, but something all too sinister. Music for Molotov cocktails, random acts of vandalism, and unholy desecrations. 'Comet Of End Times', like if Carcass wrote a thrash song, like Toxic Holocaust on steroids! Break out the Preparation H because there is no musical expense spared on that ass… An unleashing of every sonic weapon in this band’s cache, and it stays that way throughout most of the album. 

The first outlier comes by way of 'Where The Void Begins' - a mid-tempo banger and a welcomed change of pace as acoustics underlain by intrepid bass lines fuel riff upon juicy riff. A sense of artistic maturity that has been attained early; a testament to Sarcator’s ability for brilliant, accessible songwriting. There’s a sense of urgency to each track: all that young, belligerent, and full of cum energy that we geezers covet. Not even cocaine or meth can produce this kind of mania! 

Outlier number two comes in the form of 'Closure'. Psychedelia redolent to Nachtmystium and the same twangy Western vibe, not thrash at all, but a unique little instrumental jam session where Sarcator let loose and have a little fun as they explore wayward influences ranging from some Hammett-worshipping Wah to some Taake-ish complexity in melody. All over the place but in a good way. 

Swarming Angels & Flies is as entertaining as X-men, as complex as 12 Monkeys, and as intense as Mad Max - a comprehensive gem of a record. These guys deserve every bit of the limelight they’ve had cast upon them thus far. The talent speaks for itself. Extreme metal to trigger beer-drenched circle pits and caveman mosh, but also awe-inspiring moments of pondering the end-of-days. The cross-genre metal of epic proportions! Shit, I feel like I just got run over by a Mack Truck… You gonna dig this one, guaranteed. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10