(Here’s Wil Cifer‘s review of the debut album by the Finnish band SARS, which is due for release on July 12th by Time To Kill Records )
With their new album Nothing Hurts Quite Like Life Finland’s SARS teach a master class in what is metallic hardcore and what is “metalcore”.
Perhaps it‘s the long dark winters of their homeland, and the high depression rate of their homeland, as there is nothing hopeful or anthemic about the sonic beatings they are dishing out here.
The opener drips with a tangible darkness that gives their overt anger more emotional depth. The vocals are in an articulate yet suitably vengeful scream, even allowing his voice to tremble with emotion. The band does not abuse their breakdown privileges, nor do they shy from them. The drummer also stands out with his highly nuanced playing.
“Away From My Mind” highlights the stormy atmosphere layered within the uptempo thrashing as they build the song up into a riotous chant. The vocals are never an afterthought. They were given equal planning in the arrangements as heard in how they are effectively layered on the chorus.
“Solstice” is the rare song on this album that breaks the five-minute mark. It moves at more of a sludge-hinted shuffle. This creates a darker, heavier sonic pulse. They continue down a darker musical path on “Blightbearer”, the first song that conforms closer to the sound more typical of metalcore bands. The emphasis is placed on the metal side of that equation, thanks to the double-bass dropping in at key points.
The riff that opens “Not For the Violence” offers a strong case for songwriting, though they keep enough teeth bared during their attack to hold up against the previous songs. “It Still Hurts” emotes from a similar place as the first half of the record.
Their mission statement is based on hyper-aggression, but without becoming a battering ram of sound that wants to only beat your eardrums into submission. You do not have to be a masochist intent on making your ears ring to enjoy this album, though high volumes and headphones make for the best listening experience.
This album is well-produced, but not overproduced as heard in what gives a lot of today’s metal guitar tones sounding too compressed and having post-MySpace assembly line sheen. Then again, Scandinavians are not as prone to lean in the overt marketing direction as their American counterparts. While thanks to the internet these guys are not making music in a vacuum, there is not the feeling they are trying to find their place on a sub-genre’s bandwagon either.
The accents of the backing vocals create an interesting dynamic. The dissonance keeps them from drifting too close to nu-metal. The more apocalyptic brooding merges again on “Gray” to close the album. They do throw themselves into a more blast-beaten section, creating a Slayer-tinged slant to their sound.
Overall this is the kind of bleak excursion in dark heaviness my ears long for, so if you find your depression turning inward toward violence this is a soundtrack for you. If you are looking for a hardcore/metal hybrid that marries the apocalyptic roar of bands like Integrity or Earth Crisis with the angst of ’90s metal devoid of any hip-hop elements then these guys have you covered.
https://sarssickness.bandcamp.com/album/nothing-hurts-quite-like-life
https://www.facebook.com/sars.sickness/