| Three decades in the making, Carnival of Atrocities is the sound of persistence rewarded. Sarkasm, the long-dormant Canadian death/thrash unit, have emerged from the underground with a second full-length that hits like a sharpened relic—timeless in form, yet burning with urgency. If their 2023 comeback As Empires Decay reignited the flame, this follow-up sets the whole inferno ablaze.
With eight tightly packed tracks across 36 unrelenting minutes, Carnival of Atrocities wastes no time on theatrics. This is pure, technical death/thrash done right—no filler, no fluff. The influences are clear, but never derivative: imagine early Gorguts fused with the precision of Obliveon, the aggression of Pestilence, and the sharp structures of Believer and mid-era Death. And yet, Sarkasm doesn’t mimic—they refine.
Opener “I Am Chaos” sets the tone with a searing riff and a scream that feels torn straight from the abyss. Vocalist Bruno Bernier sounds rabid yet commanding, delivering lines with grit and conviction. The guitar work from François Dubuc and Yves Parent is a masterclass in controlled chaos—intricate without being indulgent, aggressive without losing melody. Tracks like “Murmurs from the Void” and “Echoes of Hyperion” balance complex phrasing with memorable hooks, while “Hateful, Spiteful, Vengeful” is exactly as vicious as its title suggests.
What’s most striking is the band’s balance of old-school spirit and modern power. Drummer Simon Thibodeau delivers precision blasts and galloping rhythms, keeping the whole thing locked tight, while Dave Bouchard’s bass tone adds weight and presence—especially evident in the sludgy crush of “Ex Umbris.”
Despite the years away, Sarkasm sound hungrier than ever. There’s a palpable rage beneath every note, a sense of purpose in every track. The production, courtesy of Maxime Lacroix with mastering by the legendary Dan Swanö, gives the album a punchy clarity that retains its organic, analog charm. This is not a band chasing trends—they are the trend others will soon follow.
In a scene flooded with overpolished, soulless death metal, Carnival of Atrocities stands as a defiant, riff-driven triumph. It doesn’t try to reinvent the genre—it reminds us why we fell in love with it in the first place. For fans of technical thrash and death metal with heart, bite, and backbone, Sarkasm’s second offering is essential.
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