SarGasm – Monster of the Week
SarGasm is a four piece, Rock n’ Roll band out of Long Island, NY. The band is comprised of Brian Kjellgren (vocals/guitar), Matty Marcus (guitar/backing vocals), Billy Santoro (bass) and Sean Ageman (drums). The band originally formed as Deliriant, until 2010 when it “morphed” into SarGasm! With the arrival of Sean in 2015 and Matty in 2016, SarGasm was ready to put their new lineup into action. They began recording their new EP, “Monster of the Week” in 2017 and released it on May 5th of this year!
I was fortunate enough to get to speak to Matty Marcus and get some insight from him. He informed me that “most people who have heard our music tend to see it as a blend of Queens of the Stone Age and CKY, with a little bit of Metallica thrown in”. After listening to “Monster of the Week” for myself, I could not agree more with the comparison! I love the way SarGasm has been able to blend the sounds of multiple bands into one kick ass EP!
SarGasm begins “Monster of the Week” with the the album titled track, Monster of the Week. This is a sick song to start the EP with. The music immediately hits you with the dark guitar chords and high speed drumming. It gives you that feeling of just wanting to let go of all the bullshit you deal with every day and start going crazy to the music. SarGasm should start every single show with this song. What a killer way to get a crowd hyped and moving! I love the way SarGasm slows down the track, allowing for the instrumentals to be highlighted until the screaming vocals come in and hit you like a kick to the jaw. It reminds me so much of an Underoath song!
“Monster of the Week” continues with Bon Voyage. The vocals stand out so much because of the emotion that can be felt when listening to this song . “I don’t want you anymore, I tossed you off into the shore. All I hear is you still crying, if I wanted you back then I’d be lying”. It’s on this song that SarGasm’s Queen’s of the Stone Age comparison can be clearly heard. Like many Queen’s of the Stone Age songs, Bon Voyage bounces back and forth from fast, hard hitting instrumentals and vocals, to softer, slowed down instrumentals and calmer vocals.
SarGasm continues shredding with Always, one of my favorite songs on the EP. I am obsessed with the guitar intro on this song! It’s so awesome to hear the band’s ability to incorporate dark and heavy guitar chords and make them sound so upbeat. This song, without a doubt, will become a fan favorite. It is a song that everyone can, and will sing along to. “She never loved you, don’t you see that at all? She loved to watch you scream and then fall. Becoming a man you dreamed that you’d never be, now you’re something else your old self can’t see. Now that she’s moved on and out of the way, the old you is back for fun and came out to play”.
SarGasm finished “Monster of the Week” with Patient Over the Knife and Five Easy Riders. Patient Over the Knife is the most unique song on the EP (in my opinion) because of the way the band switches up the flow consistently throughout the entire song. It begins fast and heavy with those CKY/System of a Down sounding instrumentals and slows down throughout before coming full circle and getting back to the hard hitting sounds. The EP ends with Five Easy Riders. This song gives off a HUGE Queens of the Stone Age vibe. It starts off with an eerie guitar/light drumming intro and dark vocals. “Dance little devil, dance for me. Dance like the devil you were born to be. Let’s be lovers for just one day, as soon as it is over I will run away”. The way SarGasm switches up the tempo between the verses and chorus is so sick, but the highlight of the song for me is the way the band tears it up at the end. Each member of the band is given the opportunity to show off their talents in a huge jam session. SarGasm absolutely throws it down to end this EP and I am loving everything about it!
SarGasm is one of those bands that has the ability to make it big. They have captured the ability to incorporate multiple styles and sounds into one EP to reach a broad audience, and it will surely pay off! Make sure you follow SarGasm’s social media accounts to check back for updates, and listen to songs from the EP on the blog’s Spotify playlist; After Hours Review!
Upcoming SarGasm Show
June 16th – Rams American Pub – Holbrook, NY w/ Maybe Later, Last Turn Off Broadway and Dino Skatepark