SARCATOR is a rather young band from Sweden who play a version of Blackened Thrash Metal that is heavily influenced by old school stylings.  Simply put, they aim to evoke titans of the genre that blurred the lines between first wave Black Metal such as BATHORY and VENOM and the Teutonic Thrash of SODOM.  They will be releasing their debut album via Redefining Darkness Records at the end of the month, a most appropriate time.

SARCATOR take a noble stab with the first track, "Abyssal Angel".  While the riffs conjure visions of bullet belts, leather, and fire, this is pretty standard fare.  The latter part of the song serves to offer more dynamics breaking up the monotony.  This is followed by "Manic Rapture" which is a step up from the first track.  Specifically, the triplets employed by the guitars are a staple of Thrash.  Like the first track, it gets better as it plays through and a blistering solo precedes a monster change-up which manages to throw some light on the bass player.  It wasn't until reaching the end of the song that I heard the first nod to Black Metal (other than the gruff vocals) which was actually just a blast beat.  "Deicidal," the third track, actually incorporates some token Black Metal tropes with a furious beginning that puzzles me why it was not chosen as the lead track.  Starting off with something strikingly heavy as such sets a solid precedent and helps with pacing as the album plays through.

To be brutally honest, the album seems to straddle the fence between what could be considered a professional, modern recording and one that sounds self-financed due to budget constraints.  For a band as young (though I don't know exact ages their picture shows a decidedly young band), this is a promising start.  Had this been the '80s, this album would be a lot more difficult to get through.  The drums and bass are solid with a heavy presence and a bit of dirt on the bass giving it a full, ringing sound.  The guitar tone is tight accentuating the precision of the picking.  Vocally, there is room to grow though at the end of "Midnight Witchery," the fourth track, he does a pretty convincing CRONOS.

What is abundantly clear from this debut is that the band is composed of truly devoted Metal heads.  It would be incorrect to say they are playing a vintage style despite being heavily rooted in old school Metal.  The band have made a solid start to a promising future.  Only time will tell if they have the power to remain a fixture in the scene.