Scars of the Flesh presents its third album.
Formed in 2015 in the United States, the band is composed of Kobey Lange (vocals, Wings of Abaddon), Derek Russell (guitar/bass, ex-Blessed Agony) and Bryan Eckermann (guitar/bass/drums, Bryan Eckermann, Wings of Abaddon, Winters Plague) announced in 2022 the release of In Darkness Alone, still as an independent band.
The first part of the album starts with Only I, a which that skillfully mixes a dissonant Black Metal with very aggressive and fast Death Metal influences. On the vocal side, the singer perfectly reaches both extremes in saturation to pace this very dark and haunting composition which guides us to The Hooded One, a track which keeps heady melodies while offering a solid basis. Ominous tones coupled with massive vocal parts feed a heady duality which eventually calms down before the eponymous track, In Darkness Alone, comes to crush us with a suffocating rhythmic. Riffs will sometimes reveal more aggressive and energetic elements, like this double kick roll, but we always feel this heavy and hypnotic atmosphere which also rages on the melancholic Memory Unknown and its haunting melodies. The track is quite slow, but it allows the band to let its dissonant harmonics haunt us, borrowing sometimes from Doom/Death as well as piercing influences to spread its message before Mors Aeterna comes to trap us in its intriguing softness which becomes more mysterious at the end.
After those five original compositions, the band decided to covering, starting with Behemoth‘s mythical Chant For Ezkaton, which still closes their setlists today. And although I’m adamant about this song, which is one of my favorites, I notice that Scars of the Flesh knows how to do it, keeping the raw side of the composition by adapting it to their style, just like Silent Night Fever by Dimension Zero, which offers more energetic and aggressive riffs before letting melancholy express itself in Melodic Death roots. Amon Amarth is next on the list with the epic Victorious March, a track to which the band puts a darker touch while remaining quite accessible and cold. Vocals perfectly fit with the visceral and martial rage which drives us to The God That Failed, the last cover, originally played by Metallica. I’ve never been a fan of the band and its Thrash roots, but I’m glad to see that this version is interesting, also keeping the disturbing samples to close the album.
Scars of the Flesh knows exactly how to create catchy compositions with their universe, but In Darkness Alone also proves us the band can integrate to their darkness some known and appreciated tracks. A diversified and interesting album.
85/100