Review : SARKE – “Vorunah”

Sarke – Vorunah
released April 28, 2009 on Indie Recordings / Unruly Sounds / The End Records
added to WRUV on November 28, 2009

This is the first solo effort from drummer Thomas “Sarke” Berglie, who was in Tulus, then Khold after the splitup, and is now back with the reformed Tulus. He’s also worked with Old Man’s Child and Sensa Anima. Sarke wrote this album and plays all the instruments, but it wasn’t until Darkthrone vocalist Nocturno Culto signed on that the world took notice, even landing them in Wacken 2009.

Vorunah sidesteps icy riffs in favor of old school death, thrash, and punk, sounding much like the black n’ roll of recent Satyricon and some of the aforementioned groups. The longer tracks (“Frost Junkie”, “Cult Ritual”, “13 Candles”) are surprisingly good and have memorable moments, but would benefit from abridging. Also, songs like “The Drunken Priest” and “Old” are marred by their trite lyrics, and deserve more thought. Keyboards play a prominent role throughout the album, accentuating with minimalist textures. Hopefully Sarke will continue these experiments on further releases. The last track, “Dead Universe”, unfortunately ends on high speed black metal autopilot, leaving the listener with little to grasp.

Mind you, this is not the case with much of Vorunah. Sarke has emerged from behind the drums, and stands as a promising new voice in Norwegian Black Metal. Greater collaboration in the future could strengthen his dynamic, but the point is we’ll be waiting for these projects in anticipation. For those curious, his live lineup is Nocturno Culto: vocals; Sarke: bass; Cyrus (Susperia, Satyricon, Dimmu Borgir): Guitar; Asgeir Mickelson (Spiral Architect, Borknagar, Testament): drums; Anders Hunstad (Tulus): keyboards.

FCC OK
Try 1, 2, 4

01. Primitive Killing
02. Vorunah
03. The Drunken Priest
04. Frost Junkie
05. Old
06. Cult Ritual
07. 13 Candles
08. Dead Universe

Rating: