Sorcery may not be quite as well known as the bigger names in Swedish death metal, but with roots stretching back to 1986 the original incarnation of the band put out some of the earlier material in the genre as demo The Arrival beat Nihilist’s and Grave’s early demos by a year. But like a lot of the earlier groups, by 1997 Sorcery had called it quits with only a single full-length under their belt alongside a handful of demos that weren’t released as widely. 1991’s Bloodchilling Tales would be one of those albums discovered by a new generation of listeners years later, and in 2009 guitarist/drummer Paul Johansson and vocalist Ola Malmström brought the band back. 2013’s Arrival at Six was a highlight of that year for me, as the trademark HM-2 tone was on full display and the band found a good balance between fast paced attacks and slower grooves. The two albums that followed continued the established formula, and while they didn’t stand out quite as much as Arrival at Six to me they were still solid showings. This year’s The Immaculate Sin once again makes tweaks to the group’s sound, but the biggest shift is in the production. With the sound offering a more balanced approach that emphasizes more of the melodies and atmosphere without fully losing the low-end, it transforms Sorcery’s material in ways that stand out.
Considering that two of the three post reformation albums were mixed by Tomas Skogsberg and Sunlight Studios, it’s not surprising that Sorcery retained that classic HM-2 dominant and dense, low-end sound that defined Swedish death metal in its earlier days. The Immaculate Sin switches things up a bit, utilizing William Blackmon as producer and Blackmon’s experience with both old-school and melodic death metal shows in some of the different approaches the album takes. Don’t get me wrong, you still get plenty of that buzzsaw sound and the low-end is well represented, but this is a slightly clearer and more balanced approach for the band compared to their past discography. What this means is that while the blasts and grooves still have a considerable amount of weight, the sections where a bit more melody and atmosphere sneak in have more room to breathe than before and establish a big, powerful sound. This is most noticeable on tracks like “Terminate”, “Paralyzed”, and “The Door to My Black Soul” and the subtle shits alongside the crushing riffing really makes them stand out. Where the last few albums had a sound that was adjacent to Dismember or Centinex, here I get a bit more Unleashed and the heaviest melodic death metal with the old-school heft and crunch serving as the foundation. Compared to Necessary Excess of Violence things seem a bit faster paced overall, and I appreciate the healthy amount of D-beat to the drumming. There are a few songs on the second half that sound a little too similar and don’t stand out as much, but the bulk of the material has a lot that will stick with fans of everything Swedish death metal related.
Ola Malmström has a pitch that’s fairly distinct within the genre, as his approach has always come in somewhere between a distorted yell and a growl. Given how early Sorcery was compared to many of their peers in Swedish death metal and the way vocals in the genre were developing it makes sense that Malmström has always offered a bit more clarity and made it easier to decipher the lyrics than is typical for some of the others in the genre, and that’s an element I continue to appreciate. With the slightly clearer production the yells/growls are even more dominant before, and they add quite a bit of power to the material as each word towers above the rest of the band. I think some elements of Malmström’s cadence and pitch may be an acquired taste, but for me it continues to be a positive that gives Sorcery some differences from the hundreds of other Swedish death metal acts.
There are some moments on the second half that start to blur together, but as a whole Sorcery’s latest effort has left a strong impression. The shifts in production enhance the subtle melodies and tense atmosphere without losing the steamrolling approach the band is known for, and there are cool details on many of the songs that stood out to me. I’m not sure if it quite tops Arrival at Six just yet, but this one clicked with me more than the last two efforts and showcases Sorcery hasn’t lost any steam even forty years after their original formation. The Immaculate Sin is available from Xtreem Music.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg