Swedish death/black metal band Sarcasm‘s first LP, Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds, is coming out in March as announced on their Facebook page. The band’s Burial Dimensions demo compilation was extremely promising but featured too many in-congruent keyboard interludes and too much fat that needed trimming.
Here’s the cover art for the new SARCASM album “Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds”. The art was done once again by Raul Gonzalez Art, we loved that skeleton dude so much so we used him again (He’s our mascot now, we call him Sarcor) And continues on the back cover with planets and awesome stuff, only those who buy the LP/CD will see it ;) It’s not a concept album but a thematic one (hope you know the difference) and it’s all about cosmos, the power of the mind, laws of the universe, the great vortex, spiritual realms etc. Almost everything written in the “non-physical’s point of view” (absolutely not religious, on the contrary lol) A philosophical and interesting journey through mind indeed. As you probably know, the lyrics of this band are as important as the music, and we don’t just do some lyrics about zombies and stuff, which is also cool but not for us. The music is like the first album very melodic, in many ways faster and a bit shorter songs. The album will be released in march on Dark Descent Records One of the songs can be heard very soon. And a music video etc etc. Just stay tuned.. Cheers!
Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds:
Side 1:
Bloodsoaked Sunrise
From the Crimson Fog They Emerged
Embodiment of Source
Scars of a Land ForgottenSide 2:
In the Grip of Awakening Times
Silent Waves Summoned Your Inner Being
A Black Veil for Earth
The Drowning Light at the Edge of the Dawn
Tags: Black Metal, dark descent, dark descent records, death metal, sarcasm, Sweden, upcoming release
Through Tears of Gold is an odd title for a death metal track and the music is much closer to the title than to the moniker. As the previous reviewer already noted, this is really ‘melodic black metal’ insofar the basic constructions goes, just without even the slightest harmonic pretension of being anything but “beautiful music for happy people [dancing in the sunshine]”.
Gonna have to disagree with you rather strongly on that, tovarisch. “Through Tears of Gold” is one of the better Sarcasm songs and illustrates everything that is good about the band (though I personally prefer the five minute version which omits the acoustic intro). “Beautiful music for happy people”? I’m hearing more triumphant melodies in the face of adversity (the more death metally riffs that crop up during the 3:4 sections). In fact, it’s not really “in the face of diversity” so much as defined by that struggle. Very Nietzschean in that sense. It reminds me a lot of the more complex Gorement tracks; incidentally, Gorement was highly praised by previous versions of this site way back when (circa 2006ish). I’m cautiously looking forward to this release. Would be cool if the similar-sounding Fulmination came back as well.
I don’t think there’s a real disagreement here, we just experience/ interpret this »life metal« in completely different ways. I agree with you statement about »triumphant melodies in face …« but I someone’s adversaries can be overcome by himself, they were pretty harmless to begin with and not really worth making such a concert about it. Other situations might see people sitting in subterranean shelter for days on end and their adversaries are 6″ shells which keep raining and exploding day and night. There’s nothing to overcome here, either you get hit, then you’ll end up dead or horribly mutilated or you don’t, then you can keep on waiting for day of the infrantry assault.
Sarcasm are ok, I pretty much snatch up reissues left and right as even D-grade death metal releases from ye olden days are more interesting than the latest haunted cavern log ride with vague occult symbolism art projects that pass for the apex of the genre nowadays. I feel like I liked listening to youtube tracks of this and by the time the CD came I couldn’t get a full listen in. And while I never mind production values the reissue material is some of the worst recorded and mixed I’ve heard making for a long time on the stereo settings trying to get ANYTHING sounding good. I’ve no real interest in new material from this band, too many of these once teenage bands are coming back in their 40s and the results are never any fucking good. Purtenance finally got it right with their third comeback release yet no one cares at this point, which is a shame. I do enjoy Gorement, fuck I love Finnish death metal!