If God is Seven! I am mildly surprised that Sarke have reached their seventh full length release – it seems like just the other day that I listened to Vorunah for the first time. Turns out that debut was released in 2009! Waaaaaahhhhh! This time thing is trippy.
The thing that is more amazing than how prolific this band have been in the last 12 years is how unsung these Norwegian blackened heroes still are. Whilst other peers are raised high on spiked and befurred shoulders by the media and great unwashed alike Sarke seem to slip under the radar. As someone who has enjoyed and indeed reviewed their output over the years, I need to point out what you have been missing. It’s time to jump in with the Allsighr and then track back if this is your first journey on the cutting Sarke (see what I did there)?
Sarke is the leader of the band that bears his name and started things way back when as a one-man band – so far so KVLT. To add to those credentials he got in the TRVEST of the true on vocals one Nocturno Culto who surely needs no added fanfare. After that release Sarke gathered a band together by grabbing an array of brilliance from various luminaries including Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar , Testament and Satyricon (the latter seems to have featured most of the current Sarke line up at one point or another). Sarke then hammered out a blend of black metal Viking rock and roll for seven years before unleashing the epic concept album Bogefod in 2016 based on Eyrbyggja saga – think Viking zombies. It’s batshit and my review of that can be found elsewhere on this site.
Things changed in 2019 with Gastwerso which injected a swinging 70’s psychedelic doom rock element into the death and blackness. You could always tap your feet and bang your head to Sarke but now you could swing your hips and bell bottoms too. Keep those flares to hand because Allsighr is cut from the same tie-dyed cloth. Anders Hunstad’s keyboards are up front and central throughout this album and new drummer Cato Bekkevold is not afraid to throw some funky time signatures in – “Through the Thorns” has a little Nick Cave Red Right Hand groove in it.
As would be expected the riffs from Steinar Gundersen are infectious and grizzled but there is even more groove infused here. Sarke’s lays down throbbing basslines that seek to make you move rather than crush your soul. Nocturno does what he does best – the rasping sound of desperation and torment but with melody and clarity. Can anyone sing “the icccccy desert “with as much gravitas as he does on Glacial Casket?
The variety on this album is legion with flurries of goth, 80’s metal, 70’s rock , classic 90’s BM (of course) even bits of post punk . Closer Imprisoned is like Love Like Blood era Killing Joke, Christian Death, Darkthrone and pomptastic Ram It Down era Judas Priest rolled into a spiky ball and rolled down a hill into a black river.
Opener “Bleak Reflections” is pure pummelling metal from the outset with double kicks pierced by a soaring guitar line before a haunting keyboard is seduced by a rolling death and roll riff. It’s like a mini gothic neo western.
I could go through each track breaking down the bits and pieces but you need to savour this yourself and taste each subsequent ingredient on your ear tongues. It is simply marvellous. I will make special mention of “Sleep In Fear “and “The Reverberation of the Lost” tracks eight and nine respectively. Any regular readers of my reviews (get a life will ya) are aware that I love an instrumental interlude to break tension and rebuild. “Sleep In Fear” does just that – gentle piano backed by strange echoes. This could be the lilting melody wafting phantasmagorically through an abandoned Victorian mansion at midnight. It sends shivers and smiles and prepared me for the latter track.
Drums straight out of the 80’s metal text book then bells of Mercyful fate, a chunk of Beautiful People (I know Mazza is an arsehole but) 70’s Sabbathy groovy riffs and solos and then fucking Deep Purple Hammond all up in my grill too! Seriously what are you doing? This is glorious! Have you just put a record collection in a blender and recorded the results. Nocturno keeps it’s grim and frosty over the top – his vocals punching through like an ice axe. Delightful!
Seventh Heaven! Allsighr is fucking rock and indeed roll. It is heavy and indeed metal. Get it in ya!
(9/10 Matt Mason)
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