Sarcoptes - Plague Hymns

Labels: Transcending Obscurity Records

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 02 Oct 2020

Tracklist:

1. The Vertigo Soul

2. La Moria Grandissima

I'm trying to get something written up early today, so after a bit of time going through e-mails, I chose this new release from US black/thrash band Sarcoptes as my starting point for the day. It was released earlier this month by ever-growing extreme metal label Transcending Obscurity Records and it follows on from the band's 2016 debut full-length Songs And Dances Of Death. Plague Hymns is made up of two tracks and is available on cd in digipack and special box set formats, as well as digitally.

Sarcoptes is a duo but you wouldn’t think that on listening to Plague Hymns. ‘The Vertigo Soul’ is a mashup of multiple extreme genres, led by vicious black metal. The drums blast and kick throughout, the guitars provide both melody and atmosphere, as do the keys. The vocals are frighteningly good, being delivered in a very old-school way, where they accompany the instrumentation instead of overpowering it all. With so much black/death metal making waves right now, it takes a lot for a band to standout but I think Sarcoptes has definitely managed it here.

The pace doesn’t let up on second song ‘La Moria Grandissima’ either. Considering this release is so brief song-wise, there’s still a huge amount of music to get your ears around. This track is brimming with death metal influences and subtle symphonic layers. It’s really catchy too, in an odd way, which is due to the good use of melody. Again, as with ‘The Vertigo Soul’ before it, ‘La Moria Grandissima’ relies on instrumentation over vocals and the progression that Sarcoptes weaves into their music is more obvious during it’s ten+ minutes. 

Overall this is an EP brimming with quality and intensity right from the off. Sarcoptes have crafted something that will have listeners craving more and hopefully that will come in time. For now, jam this and re-visit their back catalogue if you haven’t done so in a while. Brilliant stuff.

You can stream and purchased Plague Hymns on all formats below:-

Sarcoptes - https://www.facebook.com/SarcoptesOfficial/

Transcending Obscurity Records - https://www.facebook.com/transcendingobscurityrecords/