ALBUM REVIEW: Necessary Excess of Violence – Sorcery

In any legendary regional scene, there will be forgotten warriors. For every KREATOR and SODOM, there is a PROTECTOR. For every MAYHEM and IMMORTAL there is an ULVER. And for every DISMEMBER and ENTOMBED, there is a SORCERY. Formed right at the start of the Swedish death metal boom in the mid-late 1980s, SORCERY delivered a slew of demos before releasing their criminally underrated debut, Bloodchilling Tales in 1991 and fading into obscurity as the decade progressed. After years apart, the band reformed, unleashing their long-awaited sophomore album in 2013 – Arrival Of Six. Six years on and another record under their belt, SORCERY are set to continue their partnership with Xtreem Music, releasing their fourth full-length Necessary Excess Of Violence this summer. 

Untamed speed and aggression? Check. War-crime level abuse of the HM-2 pedal? Check. Melody, lead flourishes, and solos a’plenty? Check. On paper, Necessary Excess Of Violence checks all the right boxes, but the sonic execution raises the bar – and then some. The Stellar Circle immediately throws down the gauntlet with a series of riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on one of the classic SLAYER albums, and a nice dose of AMON AMARTH-esque stomp to break up the ferocity in the middle. A viciously strong start, SORCERY don’t ease up on the intensity as they move into the eviscerating crowd-pleaser Where We Were Born We Will Demise and the more melodic, almost blackened The Darkest Part Of You.

Let’s be real here. You can’t accuse SORCERY of displaying genre-breaking innovation at any point across Necessary Excess Of Violence. The album falls very neatly into the “Swedish death metal” category, and if you aren’t a devotee to early ENTOMBED, GRAVE or DISMEMBER, it’s unlikely this will hit the right spot for you. But what Necessary Excess Of Violence lacks in innovation, it makes up for in top-tier execution. Perfectly balancing the punk-like undertones of the early Swedish death metal scene with a subtle touch of black metal, melody in all the right places and classic death metal aggression, the band have managed to make a sound that is easily lost in the noise stand head and shoulders above many contemporary acts. Making up the bulky mid-section of the record, SORCERY delve into a crushing atmosphere with Of Blood And Ash, before bringing some punk attitude for I’ll Be Gone In The Dark and delivering plenty of hooks for Death Is Near and Illuminate.

Determined to end Necessary Excess Of Violence on the same high it started with, SORCERY are unrelenting in their closing triple threat of King Of Nothing, Year Of The Plague and Language Of The Conqueror. King Of Nothing has a really interesting blend of groove and blackened aggression, letting the Piotr Wiwczarek-esque vocals from front man Ola Malmström to take the spotlight, while the penultimate Year Of The Plague is just filthy in its heaviness, bringing the HM-2 pedal to its very limits. Language Of The Conqueror serves to bookend Necessary Excess Of Violence wonderfully, ending the record in a similarly high quality fashion as The Stellar Circle opened it with.

What is immediately striking about Necessary Excess Of Violence is just how much fun it is. This is a band of forgotten veterans from a scene widely regarded as one of the most important in the genre, but at no point do SORCERY feel dated, tired, or simply rehashing 30 year old ideas. Necessary Excess Of Violence easily stacks up to some of the bigger releases from the Swedish death metal scene, and shows that the underground is king. An underground masterclass of why the Swedish death metal scene is so special, and the magnum opus from genre veterans.

Rating: 8/10

Necessary Excess of Violence is out now via Xtreem Music. 

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