Symbolic - Scarvest
Having melodic death metal from Germany for a review nearly always means that there's gonna be some really good stuff to listen. And Scarvest – the latest by Symbolic (Deu) – doesn't prove me wrong at all. It's their second album and I can say that this band already kicks some nice ass with their music. So what's there on this album that makes it a very good listen for any death metal fan?
Right from the first riff of the album opener Everlasting you get a very good idea of what to expect on Scarvest – intense melodic death metal in the good meaning of it. It's really death metal and it's really melodic, yet without falling into any mellow or sentimental trend the modern melodic death metal is associated with today. Symbolic are melodic in the early Gothenburg way without loosing any bit of their death metal intensity: constant double kicks, epic riffs, sharp solos, evil growls and so on. During the entire album you'll just want to bang your head, except for Mysery – a nice slow acoustic track that gives your head a good rest in the middle of the album just to start banging it even harder on the next track.
It's really hard to pinpoint any drawbacks on Scarvest as it's a flawless record both in terms of production and material presented on it. The musicianship is on a very high level, all the riffs are solid, flowing one into the other very naturally. The solos are executed exceptionally well and to the point – fast, melodic and right where they are needed. The vocals don't attract your attention much with the typical growl/scream combination you'll hear on any death metal album. Thankfully there are no clean vocal here as the music doesn't really need them at all. The only thing that didn't please me personally is that some riffs tend to be repeated for too long – something that makes even a very good riff sound a bit boring. But nevertheless, it's not a prog-death record after all and Symbolic aren't trying to break the mold here. They stick within a single genre and do it exceptionally well, that's why I would definitely recommend Scarvest for those who want straightforward melodic death metal in their playlist.
Right from the first riff of the album opener Everlasting you get a very good idea of what to expect on Scarvest – intense melodic death metal in the good meaning of it. It's really death metal and it's really melodic, yet without falling into any mellow or sentimental trend the modern melodic death metal is associated with today. Symbolic are melodic in the early Gothenburg way without loosing any bit of their death metal intensity: constant double kicks, epic riffs, sharp solos, evil growls and so on. During the entire album you'll just want to bang your head, except for Mysery – a nice slow acoustic track that gives your head a good rest in the middle of the album just to start banging it even harder on the next track.
It's really hard to pinpoint any drawbacks on Scarvest as it's a flawless record both in terms of production and material presented on it. The musicianship is on a very high level, all the riffs are solid, flowing one into the other very naturally. The solos are executed exceptionally well and to the point – fast, melodic and right where they are needed. The vocals don't attract your attention much with the typical growl/scream combination you'll hear on any death metal album. Thankfully there are no clean vocal here as the music doesn't really need them at all. The only thing that didn't please me personally is that some riffs tend to be repeated for too long – something that makes even a very good riff sound a bit boring. But nevertheless, it's not a prog-death record after all and Symbolic aren't trying to break the mold here. They stick within a single genre and do it exceptionally well, that's why I would definitely recommend Scarvest for those who want straightforward melodic death metal in their playlist.
- Everlasting
- The Greed
- Achilles' Sons
- Scarvest
- Mysery
- Bittersweet
- Down To Zero
- 7H8P7P5H7
Twilight-Vertrieb
Reviewer: twansibon
Feb 23, 2011
Feb 23, 2011
Next review:
Rotengeist - Fear Is The Key
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