Scarred is full of energy again.
Created in 2003 by Diogo Bastos (guitar, ex-Abstract Rapture, formerly live for Satyricon and Carach Angren) and Laurent Kessel (drums) at Luxembourg, the line-up is completed by Bertrand « Troll » Pinna (bass), Vincent Wilquin (guitar, Fractal Universe, Dehumanize) and Yann Dalscheid (vocals) for the release of Scarred, their third album, with Klonosphere.
For this album, Scarred went all out: Patrick Damiani (Carach Angren, Falkenbach, Secrets of the Moon…) and his TidalWave Studio for recording and mixing, Robin Schmidt (Carach Angren, DeVicious, Falkenbach, Leprous, Powerwolf…) on mastering and an illustration made by Drazen Medakovic, who also does the previous album’s artwork.
Sp we have this powerful Death Metal basis, this catchy groove, those raging howlings, this soft clean voice, but also those atmospheric and symphonic touches, as well as some technical parts that the band succeed once more to fit in their rhythmics. After a short introduction, the album is launched, and nothing can stop it anymore. Whether Mirage is an excellent opener to break into the band’s universe, A.D…Something and Chupacabra offer a great dose of their creative madness, melting chaotic and groovy harmonics with an impressive rhythmic. The band calms down with Prisms before unveiling us some more catchy and Heavy influences with Merry-Go-Round and Nothing Instead, while A.H.A.I.A. is a darker and more enigmatic song, mainly on the final part. Lua comes to appease minds again before letting Dance Of The Giants explode on our face with this smashing groove, completed by clean backing vocals. Once again, the band melts its influences until the soaring final part, then Petrichor, strikes, a song that fully assumes this Progressive and Melodic sound. The majority of the song uses clean vocals, which is unusual. The soft Yours Truly closes the album, offering some epic sonorities before fading away.
Scarred made huge progress. It is worth the wait by far for Scarred, when you hear this incredible melting of as different as complementary styles that the band offers.
90/100