“Scheusal” is an eloquent German word for an ugly, brutal entity, something between monster, beast and notorious criminal. This Scheusa herel evokes the spirit of ‘Urwahn’—a term that translates loosely to “primal madness”—and that’s precisely what this one-man German black/punk metal act delivers: barbaric, raw aggression with a distinctly unpolished edge. Released under the Purity Through Fire banner, Scheusal stands both apart from and alongside its labelmates. Think of Mavorim, for instance—similar in fury, but Scheusal trades melody for brute force.
The production is deliberately coarse: rusty, rough, and raw. It’s the kind of sound that feels like it’s being booted straight into your freshly scrubbed asshole with steel-toed malice. That’s the promise, and Scheusal delivers.
Across ten tracks, the music is stripped down and direct. Where bands like Mavorim lean into melodic layering, Scheusal opts for simplistic yet piercing riffs that cut deep. The drums occasionally surge with intensity, while the bass often fades into the background—an absence that somehow adds to the band’s stark identity. Tracks like ‘Blutsumpf’ introduce minimal soloing, just enough to break the monotony without softening the blow.
On ‘Rotäugig & Gehörnt’, the shrieked vocals are paired with a clean, narrative voice—an approach we’ve heard before, but here it’s executed with conviction. By the time ‘Der Hornengott’ rolls in, the tempo shifts again. The drums grow more dynamic, the vocals more deranged, and the madness more palpable. It’s a descent into chaos, driven by hoarse screams and thunderous rhythm.
Scheusal may share the same label as other underground Black Metal acts, but it carves its own path through the mire. It’s raspy, raw, and aggressive—Black Metal in its most unfiltered form. It gets a well-deserved maximum score from me + I think we have a wiener!
