Insanely percussive and groovy is what defines this Kolkatta based 5 piece Experimental/Hardcore Metal band Scarface. Its almost been 2 years since they formed the band under the name Lost Sequence and later changing the band name to Scarface. Well they claim their music is an amalgamation of many metal genres with lot of variations so I decided to listen to their single titled Salvation Denied which basically revolves around betrayal, not in love but its for people who seem to be leave behind vital things in the fast pace of life and repent later. Here goes the indepth analysis:

The song starts with explosive groovy riff and double patterns which are executed quiet well. Crunching groovy riffs with insane drumming is what makes this song memorable. The melodic verses and variations in vocals have As I lay Dying’ish vibe all over. Although as the song proceeds you get to here some clean patterns which makes this song interesting. Clean vocals is another plus point when it comes to mix the groovy riffs with thumping bass and double patterns. Bass lines are good and vocals are pretty good.

The band claims to be heavily influenced by Thrash Giants Megadeth, Metallica and Groovy dudes Lamb Of God and others. But somehow there are hardly any traces of the it throughout the song. As soon as you read the band is related to experimental roots one expects certain degree of crazy tortures through their variations, but thats were Salvation Denied disappoints. There aren’t much variations and the song goes little repetative towards the middle section although the solo part towards the end gives way to complete new direction. These bunch of guys have that skill of fusing in their influences in a specified direction. Unfortunately song lacks that punch of justifying three or more listens, but its surely an interesting feast where you get to feel the hardcore metrics fused with melody.

Important Points:

1. The song structure and arrangements is something they have to work on. With such a rock solid sound, sometimes bands forget to follow the direction towards which the song is going and to justify their variations, they need to work more.

2. With excellent production metrics, they have the capablity to fuse lot of ideas and concepts.

3. Lyrically they write about the grim of life. They have the ability to not only come up with killer tunes but also lyrically. Vocals are good and what makes them impressive is the fusion of clean lines and growls. He needs to work on growls since the way he expresses his words, emotions is something a vocalist need to possess.

4. Right from crunching groovy tunes to precise drums to thumping bass lines, Scarface is pretty much at the level where they can give a run for the money to those who lack the skill of innovating melody.

5. 2 years already in the metal scene, they really need to understand their sound. With so many line-up changes and shifts from genre’s has effected the balance of the band.

Its a great start by Scarface and I really appreciate the way they have come up with this crushing piece. They have already started their journey and its only a matter of time when we can see them nailing some insane stuff’s.I wish them all the best and I am waiting for their next single \m/

Rating : 8/10

Listen to SALVATION DENIED Here \m/