Review by Anna on March 11, 2010.

This is the debut album of Sarsekim from South Australia, a band that rose from the ashes of the now defunct Dark Intent. Despite the brutal vocals and general Death Metal feeling that has you thinking you're in for an hour of straight Death Metal, a degree of sophistication starts to unfold, unraveling a variety of other elements that you can't quite put your finger on.

As I cheat and look on the promo for answers, it lists "Death to Thrash, Black, Grind, and Progressing Metal". I say that sounds about right. All of these elements are like mouth-watering frozen fruits in a blender of apple juice (Death Metal), eager to become one in the form of a smoothie. Yet the blender was not quite successful in processing all the chunks to create a consistent solution. That is the bottom line of this critique- I feel they have not found a "solution" (pun originally not intended but it works... don't hit me) to blend all of these elements seamlessly.

One part of an album may sound like a completely different band than another part. Some other things I noted were that the riffs, though not shabby, seem a bit too readily-comprehensible. For the level of sophistication that they are showing, I feel this is an area that could be further 'matured' or developed. All the songs are full of tension, suspense, and aggression from start to finish, so much so that it is rather working against them, creating a 'gray' canvas of activity that lacks contrast. I also have to complain about the snare tuning which I don't really care for. All I hear is this annoying "thump thump thump" during blasts and it really draws all my attention there. I also feel the drums could be more creative for fill-ins.

This album is full of evidence of musical goodness lurking underneath, and as the band is far from careless with their presentation, I foresee that a promising future is possible with necessary improvements.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 9
Originality: 8
Overall: 6.9

Rating: 7.3 out of 10