Sarcasm - Mourninghoul (2024)

Unleashing an interesting sounding mixture of Necrophobic-meets-Dissection hybrid, today we have Sweden’s Sarcasm and their latest offering “Mourninghoul”. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 45 minutes of fierce music, this release has a nice old-school vibe with a modern mix/production edge. If you are looking for ravaging guitar-driven melodic songs, this is certainly a solid release to check out.

The album starts with the savage “As Northern Gates Open” and its waves of melodic riffs. The harsh snarls perfectly complement the velocity of the drumming and are nicely contrasted with lush melodic passages. As “Lifelike Sleep” and “Withered Memories of Souls We Mourn” roll in, we hear the band’s versatility as they incorporate crafty atmospherics and engaging headbanging moments into their crafty style.

One of our personal favorites has to be the Dissection-esque “Dying Embers of Solitude” and its punishing guitar melodies, for a moment there we were transported to the days of “Storm of the Light's Bane” and its magical melodic side. The release also has a darker and more Death Metal side with songs like “A Lucid Dream in the Paradigm Stream” or the solemn “No Solace From Above” and its Doomy passages, showcasing the band’s excellent songwriting skills and expansive sound.

In general, “Mourninghoul” is one hell of a release that nicely showcases the band’s dynamic sound and excellent songwriting skills. Not being just a copy of their influences, Sarcasm imprints some of their DNA to their high-octane music while also showing some restraint with excellent melodic passages. If you are looking for that old-school European Black/Death Metal vibe with hefty melodic elements, make sure you check out these guys.

Label: Hammerheart Records

Release: April 12th, 2024

Genre: Melodic Death/Black Metal

Country: Sweden