Review #18 : SarGasm
REVIEW #18
Artist: SarGasm
Album: Monster of the Week
My whole life real metal music has never really resonated with me. Seventies metal, I always saw it as classic rock, Eighties metal, hell no…, Nineties metal, to me it meshed a lot with grunge, and the 2000’s, well it became a weird offshoot punk. I never could sit through full albums by Metallica, Megadeth, Lamb of God, or Behemoth though. Not that I at all disrespect the genre, I just can’t truly appreciate the songs the way they deserve to be appreciated. So going into SarGasm’s 2018 EP Monster of the Week I expected have the same lukewarm reaction.
Well I was very wrong.
SarGasm is a four piece band from Long Island, NY with a healthily growing discography. Monster of the Week is the group’s third multi-track release since they formed in 2015 and it is by far their peak to this point. Professionally recorded by Front Row Recording and mastered by Westfall Recording Studio, this five song EP brings a much needed spark of life to modern metal. Without breaking the mold, SarGasm has brought a variety of sounds to this release that I think should lure in most fans of rock music as a whole.
The very metal-like vocals provided by Brian Kjellgren are well done. Without using much grit, his clean singing style and smooth building range together evoke plenty of emotion in his lyrics, while other vocalists may resort to screaming or gravelly vocal tones to do so. This paired with the musicianship provided by Matty Marcus, Billy Santoro, and Sean Ageman creates a ferocious musical canvas for these in your face jams.
Two songs off of Monster of the Week stood out to me, the first is the title track. The song, which I’ll refer to as MOTW for clarity, is a super fun opening rock number that says hello with a great energetic riff that continues throughout the track’s three minute and thirty eight second runtime. Lyrically the song has a semi-complicated plot, that I can only guess is about a murderer that has met their match (in a way?) but I may be way off base there. MOTW as a whole however, does not led up and even has guest vocals from Anthony Copozzi of fellow New York metal band, Thracian.
My second favorite of the five, which are all solid in their own rite by the way, would have to be the second track, Bon Voyage. I will be honest though, this was a tough choice for me because I really enjoy the fourth number, Patient Over the Knife. That thought was overridden however, by the fact that Bon Voyage has circus/carnival themed verses. If you want me to immediately like your music just hit me with your best circus/carnival themed tracks, that’s it, that’s the secret! I’m weird, I knew this. Don’t try to change me!! Ahem...hmm, anyway.
Overall though, Monster of the Week is an expertly crafted five song EP that deserves professionally recognition. All metal fans should keep a keen eye on this band to see what the future has in store for them. Again, as someone who doesn’t really enjoy metal music to its fullest, these four gents pulled me in and made me a fan. Take a good look at their complete discography on Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Play, and Apple Music.
Ryan Hanratty
Frosted Green Productions
Album: Monster of the Week
My whole life real metal music has never really resonated with me. Seventies metal, I always saw it as classic rock, Eighties metal, hell no…, Nineties metal, to me it meshed a lot with grunge, and the 2000’s, well it became a weird offshoot punk. I never could sit through full albums by Metallica, Megadeth, Lamb of God, or Behemoth though. Not that I at all disrespect the genre, I just can’t truly appreciate the songs the way they deserve to be appreciated. So going into SarGasm’s 2018 EP Monster of the Week I expected have the same lukewarm reaction.
Well I was very wrong.
SarGasm is a four piece band from Long Island, NY with a healthily growing discography. Monster of the Week is the group’s third multi-track release since they formed in 2015 and it is by far their peak to this point. Professionally recorded by Front Row Recording and mastered by Westfall Recording Studio, this five song EP brings a much needed spark of life to modern metal. Without breaking the mold, SarGasm has brought a variety of sounds to this release that I think should lure in most fans of rock music as a whole.
The very metal-like vocals provided by Brian Kjellgren are well done. Without using much grit, his clean singing style and smooth building range together evoke plenty of emotion in his lyrics, while other vocalists may resort to screaming or gravelly vocal tones to do so. This paired with the musicianship provided by Matty Marcus, Billy Santoro, and Sean Ageman creates a ferocious musical canvas for these in your face jams.
Two songs off of Monster of the Week stood out to me, the first is the title track. The song, which I’ll refer to as MOTW for clarity, is a super fun opening rock number that says hello with a great energetic riff that continues throughout the track’s three minute and thirty eight second runtime. Lyrically the song has a semi-complicated plot, that I can only guess is about a murderer that has met their match (in a way?) but I may be way off base there. MOTW as a whole however, does not led up and even has guest vocals from Anthony Copozzi of fellow New York metal band, Thracian.
My second favorite of the five, which are all solid in their own rite by the way, would have to be the second track, Bon Voyage. I will be honest though, this was a tough choice for me because I really enjoy the fourth number, Patient Over the Knife. That thought was overridden however, by the fact that Bon Voyage has circus/carnival themed verses. If you want me to immediately like your music just hit me with your best circus/carnival themed tracks, that’s it, that’s the secret! I’m weird, I knew this. Don’t try to change me!! Ahem...hmm, anyway.
Overall though, Monster of the Week is an expertly crafted five song EP that deserves professionally recognition. All metal fans should keep a keen eye on this band to see what the future has in store for them. Again, as someone who doesn’t really enjoy metal music to its fullest, these four gents pulled me in and made me a fan. Take a good look at their complete discography on Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Play, and Apple Music.
Ryan Hanratty
Frosted Green Productions
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