Scolopendra unveils Citadel of Torment, their new album.
Seven years after their second album, Thomas « Noué » L’Hoir (vocals, Gohrgone), Yves Pene (guitar, Corrosive Elements), Maxime « Pantin » L’Hoir (guitar, Beer Breath), Olivier « Captain » Le Lin (bass, Beer Breath, Gohrgone) and Leo Godart (drums, Extravasion, Promethean, Remember the Light) return.
Panic Epidemic, the first track, immediately makes us aware of the band’s evolution: the sound is more aggressive and complex than on the previous album, with a few sampled elements thrown in for good measure. The vocal parts are as solid as ever, perfectly accompanying the jerky riffs that give way to the equally energetic Neuro Dissection, with which the band confirms a darker touch as well as piercing leads without altering the constant rhythm that bludgeons us at all times. Event Horizon continues in this raw vein with a new dose of pugnacity tinged with Brutal Death influences, but sometimes also with dissonant guitars in the background, while Foreign Soul first offers us a slow, massive and oppressive sound before returning to its spasmodic riffs characteristic of its usual violence. Mental Torture II (which of course echoes the track Mental Torture released on the band’s debut album eight years ago) revives the dissonance scattered throughout its rhythmic pattern to make it disquieting between two waves of raw power, then the album comes to an end with the long impressive Black Fortress, which takes care to spread effective riffs before accelerating, then placing its dark veil to close this chapter.
With Citadel of Torment, Scolopendra reassert their presence on the French scene, revealing their new identity in the process. Their aggressive roots are as effective as ever, and the band intends to bring them to life once again.
75/100