It has been a hot minute since I’ve immersed myself in some death metal from the great land that we know as Sweden. It’s the country’s specific brand of death metal that has given many, many hours of enjoyment to us with loads of excellence to be had, and Sorcery is a name that the scene has known for quite some time. But, they’ve only really started making waves in the last ten years given their lengthy hiatus. On their fourth full-length, their third in six years, Sorcery shows us that they’re still capable of summoning that old school magic for the style while never allowing themselves to sound out of touch as their entire new album is very worthy to be hailed as a real heavyweight contender.

It’s likely been since the last Sadistik Forest offering that I really heard some Swedish death that really caught my attention, held it, and delivered at every single feasible turn without fail nor hesitation. In very much the same fashion but with a much more straight-forward approach, Sorcery does no less than fucking decimate with their new album as they show us just what exactly it means to fuck with a band whose origins lie decades back where the scene was known but far from wonderland we know of now. From the delicious cover art to the voracious hooks spread amongst it, “Necessary Excess of Violence” is a true tour de force of by-the-books Swedish death that is not afraid for even a second to punish its listeners through one devastating lesson in gore-filled death metal that’s wreathed in darkness in order to get their point across. That may sound pretty standard by all rights, and it is, but there’s a special air that Sorcery elicits for all of “Necessary Excess of Violence” that enhances not only the suffocating realm of noxious death that they provide for all ten tracks but also the traditional Swedish sound that permeates every moment of this bewildering display of power. I can’t put my finger on the source of that flavorful air, but it’s with it that Sorcery has definitely caught lightning in a bottle.

The wonderful world of Sweden has never been short of any sort of quality in its long and illustrious history of death metal, and Sorcery refuses to become an exception to that rule as this album beautifully captures everything that the style has ever done magnificently. With sword and shield in hand along with an insatiable bloodlust, “Necessary Excess of Violence” conquers all in its path to leave only a burning mass come its closing notes.

“Necessary Excess of Violence” releases on August 20th via Xtreem Music!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Necessary Excess of Violence” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Sorcery on Facebook here.