Haven't we already been ran down by scores of black/thrash bands like Scythe? No, mainly because Scythe is much more queer a band when compared to other other acts plaguing the scene today, even though monsters like Nocturnal Graves, Assaulter, Shackles, Ketzer and Charon are proving to be very efficient in creating a new, robust black/thrash scene. Either way, Scythe is a band that I can't really add to this list as their style falls apart from typical black/thrash, due to the numerous strata making up its well balanced anatomy, with various sounds and fashions aplenty, something that many others seem to be missing these days. Scythe mainly deal with with corrupted blackened death/thrash, but they've displayed the style from so many viewpoints that it's actually hard to keep track of their music. It's fast, it's viscous, it's crazed with abysmal savagery--I'll give you that, but the rest, you'll have to find out on your own.
Surely, what incredible nature can a black/thrash band have, I feel many asking, and the truth is, the music isn't anything extremely complex, nor is it a brain-puzzling mish mash of notes and flying chords, but a rather tight, percussive and most importantly comprehensible performance is displayed on ''Beware The Scythe'', and a plucky attitude also decorates the riffs, bewildering all those who seek simplicity in simple riffs. The riffs fluctuate into different forms often frequently, first bringing forth some propulsive, groovy chugs to crush a few necks, then arriving with flurried assault of spiraling, hypnotizing black metal consistency, and then maybe even a mid paced melody of brooding evil, all stacked together with surprising technical prowess. The songs are pretty ''get to the point'' really, but even though each arrow reveals its target blatantly, the listener gets a violent dose of brutally fashioned foray, spiced up with sprinkles of black metal chaos. Even though the whole album's evil oriented, you can't help but feel a smooth groove in the catchy, sensational riffs, driven towards an almost hard rock edge with their dynamic, agile movements and the resonant, yet clean taste of the atmosphere. There are even some cleaner guitar interludes that dwell under the hefty riffs, much like the sections found on ''Planet Of The Humans''.
Like I said, there's been a lot of stereotyping by calling these guys plain black/thrash, because there are some moments where the music doesn't even live up to be black metal oriented. The title track introduces some memorable hard rock oriented thrash metal briefs for example, and when the vocals take on a guttural edge, the raw, atmospheric quality that disperses the elements vanishes, and you're basically left with crushing, crust laden thrash riffs aplenty. The guitar tone is also a pleasing little spice, it's a vibrant, smooth spin that somehow enables the riffs to sound as fluent as goo, but still maintaining their density while doing so. Plenty of black metal bursts and gritty, dispersed interactions tend to occur in various parts of the album, and they're all planted into the cultivated soil prepared before their arrival, plus I've enjoyed a substantial amount of frequent shifts and outbreaks in the album, each adding some more diversity to the album's groove laden reservoir. Scythe embrace their atmospheric roots of black metal fairly enough, though not half as much as the immense thrash injection that seems to overwhelm and drive the album furiously, so thrashers, this one is for you. Come at it.
Highlights:
Planet Of The Humans
The Iron Witch
Beware The Scythe
Rating: 84,5%
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