After Sarmat‘s debut EP surprisingly contained a Pokémon theme cover (and low-key blew my mind in the process), I had high hopes that the full-length would repeat this in a similarly sneaky way. Would other video game themes be covered, possibly similarly obscure ones? After a couple spins, I can say that this isn’t the case. Sarmat still made a very good album, but nothing showcasing the trend of New York’s Jazz scene to incorporate video game music into the Jazz canon, at least as far that I can tell. Yet, I remain pleased, as I get some pretty unique vibes from Determined To Strike. The blurb highlights the science fiction concept, with this album apparently being the first in an epic science fiction trilogy. The cover showcases abstract, almost gigerian cyborgs or robots in an act of war. Yet, the album isn’t as abstract as it could be and rooted much stronger in the Death Metal realm than the debut or some of the musicians other projects, most notably Imperial Triumphant. Instead, we get Progressive Tech that seems rather classic in a way. Particularly, it reminds me of Ron Jarzombek‘s work and Blotted Science in particular.
The fascinating part of this is how the same feeling is reached with a different approach. It is clear that Sarmat is inspired both by Jazz, particularly fusion like Weather Report, and Progressive Rock from the 80s. A lot of it reminds me of the late New Wave experiments of a King Crimson, maybe intermingling with their Industrial Metal phase in the 90s. The melodic phrasing in the soli in particular reminds me of Adrian Belew‘s wonky approach to melody, maybe amplified by the round and surprisingly gentle lead guitar tone guitarist Cotter Champlain settles on. The Music is further enhanced by a couple guest performances which showcase the Jazz side of the album the best. “Arsenal of Tyranny” has a wonderfully skronky trumpet performance evoking a futuristic battlefield as much as it reminds me of the urban hellscapes of Imperial Triumphant or early modernist composers like Charles Ives. This song in particular is a wonderful display of how the band melds extreme metal history with the one of the Jazz discipline and Progressive Rock. The briefly appearing vocoder vocals recall Cynic, the guitar work recalls King Crimson and the trumpet recalls wild urban Jazz freakouts a lá John Zorn. While the EP didn’t set me up for this album at all, it is probably still one of the best things you can get in this style this year.
