Well this is definitely something I have been missing for a while. Awesome! Veteran Swedish melodic blackened death metallers Sarcasm have returned with their 2^nd full length album Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds.  It is interesting that these guys started off way back in ’92 and continued to gradually continue releasing smaller released pieces and that Dark Descent had released their previous debut full length as well which was initially recorded back in 1994. Got to hand it Dark Descent for continuing to find amazing releases.  Sarcasm remind me of bands like Vinterland, Twin Obscenity, Dissection and Dawn. I am going to have go back and listen to Burial Dimensions as I am sure it is very similar in style to this record.

Within starts off with “Bloodsoaked Sunrise” which opens with layered guitar harmonies into a triplet groove section with excellent drum work done by Matte Modin (Ex Dark Funeral). Production wise all of the instruments are even in the mix and this may be one of the best melodic death metal efforts that we get all year.  This is definitely a no nonsense return to the sound of late nineties Swedish metal. “Embodiment of Source” has a fantastic acoustic guitar intro that builds into excellent layered guitar work by Peter Latinen and Anders Eriksson. This particular track ends with a bit of a middle-eastern flavor. “Scars of a Land Forgotten” maybe the most aggressive track and does an excellent job of varying the overall tempo of the album as the first three songs feel a bit more mid paced.  I must say that it is too bad that these guys wouldn’t have gotten the right breaks back in 1994 because it would be interesting to see where they would be at now catalog wise.

“In The Grip of Awakening Times” has the best contrast on the album going from a slower build intro into an aggressive thrashier section which reminds me of older Skydancer Era Dark Tranquillity. If you are into this style of Swedish metal then I would say that it is very well done and varied. I like that the production doesn’t feel overly modern but more so sounds like it came from a past era. “A Black Veil for Earth” opens with another acoustic intro sounds like a twelve string following by an additional guitar accompaniment added melody which builds for about two minutes and rests before the guitars come in distorted with almost a funeral doom like feel.  At over eight minutes this might be the most ambitious of the tracks on within.  The vocals are a bit more guttural on this one. Creating a bit of a different feel from the other tracks. Same type of melodic elements just a completely different speed and vocal feel.

Closing with “The Drowning Light at the Edge of the Dawn” is back to the more up-tempo thrashy feel that a majority of this album has. Overall, Sarcasm is a unique throwback to a sound that they never really lost. This is a solid release start to finish and in a catalog that continues to seemingly grow by the second Sarcasm are not a group to forget about on the Dark Descent roster. Highly recommended!

[Visit the band's website]

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