Artist: Sarcophagum
Country: Australia
Label: Nuclear Winter Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2024
Australian Death Metal, maybe not the first thing people will talk about when discussing the genre, but over the past few years I’ve become very attached to it. There’s really something to Australian Death Metal that makes it really special, most obviously, judging from a good amount of new(er) bands, they are not going for the easiest and most trodden paths. They like to go out and seek adventure, straying from the classic song structures and pursue a certain complexity that is definitely different from the American style (Suffocation, Atheist) or classic Canadian technical Death Metal (Cryptopsy, Gorguts).
Although a band like StarGazer has done much to establish the “typical” sound, the tradition goes back longer. Bands like Abramelin and Alchemist had something much different to offer as opposed to many of their American or European peers. In recent years it were bands like VoidCeremony, Faceless Burial and Altars who unmistakably left their marks in the Australian Extreme Metal scene. Although ‘The Grand Arc Of Madness’ was preceded by a 3-track EP in 2022, Sarcophagum can be considered one of the fresher additions to the wealthy Australian tradition of contrarian Death Metal.
For those willing to dive into that exotic world, ‘The Grand Arc Of Madness’ is another prime example of how Australians seem to envision Death Metal – besides the vaunted and totally opposite Sadistik Exekution and Bestial Warlust fashion. This relatively short album clocks in well over 30 minutes, but its playing time is divided over only four tracks, with the album’s climax to be found in the epic 15-minute closing song. This is indicative of how the band approaches their music: great care is taken to build tension and atmosphere. Therefore, I am convinced that a large percentage of the naysayers simply do not pay enough time and attention to the music, they do not allow its power and beauty to penetrate them sufficiently. ‘The Grand Arc Of Madness’ is also one of those, listen to it at least several times before forming a definitive opinion, there is so much to discover on this record.
As a constant shapeshifting entity, the music crawls, swirls and creeps in all different directions, finding unexplored places and challenges your imagination throughout the entire duration of this rather monumental piece of work. Its complexity is not found in stringing together an impressive load of different riffs, instead it feels really organic, but with its unorthodox rhythms and contrarian Black Metal-tinged riffs it builds a world of its own. The combination of a dark and oppressing atmosphere and the unconventional song writing, it is fair to say that Sarcophagum is a bit of the Death Metal counterpart of many of the Icelandic and more modern Norwegian Black Metal bands.
It might be clear that ‘The Grand Arc Of Madness’ has nothing to do with the hackneyed and extremely often recycled Autopsy or Incantation riffs. If there should be any musical comparison to be made within the Death Metal spectrum, I think that this album is best described as being a doomier blend of the tried-and-tested Immolation formula. Reading all of this, I can imagine you thinking of Ulcerate, but Sarcophagum is not nearly as sterile and offers more depth of atmosphere that at times even reminds a bit of Esoteric – perhaps not really surprisingly, considering that Esoteric’s Greg Chandler did the mastering. But regardless of what it exactly is that you are hearing or recognizing, ‘The Grand Arc Of Madness’ is a downright phenomenal record that truly lives up to its title.
