Without ado, Switzerland’s Scars Divide launch into their debut ep with heavy lashings of melody and a bit of djent. The movement is utterly infectious. Yet in spite of all this thrashing jollity, there is a warning in the lyrics: “Hyperactivity disturbs ecosystems”. Blimey, now we’ve been told. The screamed lyrics sound like a dry speech but musically this is anything but dry. Flamboyant, cascading and whirling rhythms captured my attention and raised the blood pressure. It’s kind of Swedish with a touch of Soilwork but it’s also got Killswitch and Dillinger in that thrashcore, and even a bit of Suspyre in the suggestive pattern. There’s no time to take breath but I didn’t feel that I was suffocating. “All that We Need” is liberating.
“Three Meters Sixty” is, I presume, about the Berlin Wall (3m 60 being its height). Again it’s a non-stop didactic blast. Firepower comes from all sides. The musicianship is first class. This track is heavy on the drums but it’s full of life too and features yet more highly accomplished and sophisticated rhythmic technical guitar work. If there was such a thing as “Adrenaline Metal”, this would be it. It’s really good. The lyrical detail is mind-bending: “One hundred and thirty nine major arteries have been split”. Wow. The adrenaline rush continues. More fast and furious metal emerges on “The Venom of Leviathan”. The vocalist manages to match the melodrama, informing us that “groundwater tables have been struck by Schlumberger’s iron fists and their sharp fangs”. After a shadowy interlude, our blood is made to pump to the tune of “Their Own Demise”, basically a song about humans stuffing it up. Well, it’s a great way to be told as djent rhythms turn into toe-tapping, driving, express train riff-fury.
This all too short ep at just under 28 minutes closes with a controlled and calm song “Salt, Ice and Fire” which builds up in an almost post-metal way. The vocalist screams his lungs out, then it slows down dramatically for a few moments of shadowy suspense before rising epically with that bit of djent rolling through the middle. There were a lot of ideas in this track, but I didn’t understand the rush to include them all. I felt here that Scars Divide could have re-channelled their energy, lingered a while and made something good into something massive.
For the most part, this work is like consuming ten of those energy drinks at once. The intense lyrics can’t be accused of puerility, but I’m not sure they suited the style. All in all though, this is a mighty fine effort, and I reckon this band has the talent and range to come up with something even better.
(8/10 Andrew Doherty)
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