Labels: I, Voidhanger Records
Formats: CD/Digital
Release Date: 28 Mar 2025
Tracklist:
1. Upgrade
2. Serum Visions
June ended up being a little quieter than I had planned but also somehow turned out to be a bit of a record breaker. I want to try and gain better writing momentum again but I'm not forcing it either. With all of that in mind, I've chosen to write about US jazz/progressive extreme metal band Sarmat and their latest release, Upgrade. The two-song EP was released on CD and digitally by I, Voidhanger Records in March.
Sarmat is more a musical collective than a band and for this release it comprises drummer James Jones, bassist/keytar player Steve Blanco, guitarists Zachary Blakeslee-Reid and Ryan Hale, upright bass player Niko Hasapopoulos, trumpeters Oskar Stenmark and Jerome Burns, as well as vocalist Ilya Belko. It was recorded live at Gojira's own Silverchord Studio and was mixed/mastered by Colin Marston.
It’s so frustrating seeing the highest profile music festival in the UK (if not the world) paying such little respect to heavy music and it’s bands. On the flip-side, the same thing also happens in some grassroots venues too, as experienced just last Sunday when I attended a gig where the venue made no effort to promote one they were putting on, which featured four up-and-coming bands trying to reach new audiences.
With that in mind, I’m trying to play my small part by sharing the newest release from Sarmat, which so far has left people both bewildered and enthralled in equal measure. Starting with title-track ‘Upgrade’, you’re thrown straight into some utterly insane, extreme metal, filled with improvisation and uncharacteristic instruments. The trumpet of Oskar Stenmark joins the drums, bass and guitar (of James Jones, Steve Blanco and Zachary Blakeslee-Reid respectively), providing an inspired dark-jazz/experimental layer.
Nothing about this piece of music is conventional and is exactly what I’d love to witness live at my local live music venue here. It combines everything I love about extreme metal and enough weirdness to leave me grinning from ear to ear. The addition of Ilya Belko’s harsh vocals in the song’s latter half push the extreme envelope further, while not detracting from Sarmat’s metallic progressiveness.
Second piece ’Serum Visions’ is somewhat shorter than ‘Upgrade’ was, yet it feels even more of a headfuck because of it. This time Steve Blanco switches to keytar and is joined by Niko Hasapopoulos on upright bass, Ryan Hale on guitar and the trumpet of Jerome Burns. It retains Sarmat’s heavy sound but ratchets up the otherworldly experimentation to greater levels. You’ll understand what I mean when you hear it.
I really don’t know how I reached this point of musical exploration but I’m thankful for it. Being curious enough to dig deeper Into the outer, creative edges of genres (or music in general) gives a feeling of wholesomeness, even if what you’re listening to is extreme. The ever changing collective that is Sarmat makes it even more worthwhile. Please lend them your ears.
You can stream and purchase Upgrade both digitally, and on limited digipack CD from I, Voidhanger Records below:-
Sarmat - https://www.facebook.com/Sarmatproject
I, Voidhanger Records - https://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records