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Sweden's Sarcator plays thrashy metal with harsh vocals that range from blackened to death on their self-titled debut, out on Redefining Darkness Records. There's a good amount of speed and the riffing has a satisfying sharpness that takes inspiration from pioneers like Slayer and Death. There are the occasional standard thrash breakdowns where Sarcator lets up on the gas pedal to heighten the tension, but they soon mash it back to the floor and are off to the races again. Songs at the beginning of Sarcator, such as "Abyssal Angel" and "Manic Rapture" have that black/thrash sound that is so popular right now, but more death influences start to creep in as the album progresses. By the time songs like "Demonstrike" and "Cryptic Pain" (the latter a CD bonus track) roll around the rasps are joined by evil growling and even a few Tom G. Warrior "ooh!!" exclamations. Sarcator make me think of what Celtic Frost might have sounded like if they'd only explored the sounds of "Into the Crypts of Rays" and not experimented like they did.

I like Sarcator, despite a simplistic approach to songwriting, because I hear conviction that this is exactly what they wanted their album to sound like in their playing. It is loud, aggressive, take-no-prisoners metal and we can all enjoy that.