Although the Swedish incarnation of Sarcasm have been around since 1990, the band did not properly get going with album releases until 2016 with “Burial Dimensions”. With a couple of current members being involved with the band since the 1990s, the others have joined in 2015 or so, it’s a case in some ways of the old meeting the new. Whether that was going to be reflected in the melodic death metal style that Sarcasm peddle was to me an unknown quantity, and only resolved by listening to the band’s fourth album release.

“Through the Crystal Portal” opens the album. It immediately raises the bar with its marching drive and abundance of technical energy. But above all it’s a fun song to sweep us along. The unrelenting patter of the drums stands at the heart of it all. “We Only Saw the Shadows of Life” has the same drive as “Through the Crystal Portal” but is more sinister. I sensed tinges stylistically of Hypocrisy. This is death metal in forward thrust. “Ancient Visitors” is straight from the crypt with its organ, and its doom metal style which dominates the next 8 minutes. As a matter of personal preference, I was glad to get back to the militant death metal march of “The Spinning Tomb”. The rampant style is speckled with moments of subtlety. “Obsidian Eyes” is a death metal track for sure and is abrasive, but the technical guitar work mid-way through has atmospheric hints too. Less so “The Powers of Suffering that Be”, which is the sort of juggernaut that I associate with this band, but it does break out into a creepy passage before upping the tempo and roaring our brains out. “Apocalyptic Serenity” notches down the tempo and has “punishment” stamped all over it. The spoken word and the sound of a chorus in what sounds like a military setting provide the prolonged start to “Let Us Descend”. The purpose of this is not clear as the song erupts into a rapid-fire melodic death metal rampage. And so it ends.

“Stellar Stream Obscured” has all the properties of a hard-hitting death metal album with plenty of twists and adaptations of style. The stylistic mix divides driving energy with darker, dingier moments. It may be because of the division of the album into distinct passages and styles that I didn’t feel a sense of continuity. It’s well executed as you might hope from a band of such seniority, and certainly leaves a mark without taking me anywhere new.

(6.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/sarcasmsweden

https://hammerheart.bandcamp.com/album/stellar-stream-obscured