Sarcophagus
Infernal Hordes Of The Ancient Times [EP]

You think you're listening to yet another mediocre black metal project from the '80s, neither good nor bad. Instead, you are faced with a decently crafted product, apparently packaged at least 20 years ago and only released in 2003. I say this because the sound quality of the work directly (and intentionally) harkens back to the raw recordings of that period: and there is such a sensation of macabre "low-quality" darkness accompanying the heavy progress of the album that it requires at least a couple of listens.

These two Turks are capable, within certain limits, of delivering strong emotions: it is a 2-man band, seemingly having utilized overdubs to record drums, almost nonexistent bass, synthesizer, and guitars. The black metal they present to us is surprising on one hand, vaguely stereotypical on the other: there is indeed a very original symphonic component and a direct and essential attitude that leaves no room for unnecessary virtuosity. However, certain rigid schematics (monotonous rhythm, accents nearly always marked by the crash) don't leave much room for the musicians' creativity, held captive despite themselves by a specific way of composing that, sadly, has changed little over the decades.

Beyond a consistently inspired compositional vein, our duo possesses noteworthy technical skills on their instruments, apart from some too many "guitar approximations" and a few drummer's slips, whose ever-present crash mentioned above drills into our heads from the first to the last track. Not to mention that to its monotony, one must add the fact that it's not exactly a metronome (just listen to the middle of the first track, where he glaringly misses the entrance and even risks going off time...): but this is Sarcophagus, take it or leave it. An epic and devastating sound ("Storm of the ancient wrath") for a band I found nothing about online, except for the link I attached, and that deserves a fair amount of recognition, even if it doesn’t reach absolute excellence (which is hard to achieve in this genre).

A very strong reference in this EP (practically album-sized) is, as you might imagine, directed at the intermediate productions of Dimmu Borgir and the earliest Satyricon, with the perpetual risk of falling into the usual dynamics typical, alas, of the genre. In fact, decent songwriting is accompanied by a lack of originality at several points, which makes it difficult to listen for those who (like myself) have been listening to semi-obscure records in the genre for years and for whom it really takes "a lot" to make them shout "miracle" (if I can use that term...). Noteworthy "Mist of thousand fullmoon," probably the best track on the album, complete with syncopated rhythms and Satyricon-like atmospheres from "Nemesis Divina."

As is often the case, the final judgment depends much on the listener's mental disposition: those well-acquainted with bands like Satyricon and Immortal will find the album just-about interesting, while the superficial critics and audience will continue to belittle its content and form, concerned solely with highlighting its flaws and ridiculing its brutality as mere insignificant chaos.

The future of extreme music will probably see increasingly industrial and "modernist" sounds, but products like this - after all - which seem to come from the Stone Age will, in my humble opinion, continue to be a significant influence.

"I dwell in ice, I died thousand times"