Danish band Scimitar’s sophomore release flawlessly weaves Occult Black Metal with Traditional Heavy Metal influences, with an interestingly Middle-Eastern vibe as dissonant progressions make their way through a dreamy production. There are a lot of subtle elements that play into the chaos that take this album a step further from their previous, like the occasional double layered vocals, psychedelic sounding effects, or the keys sitting faintly in the mix.
The drumming is incredible, frantic and complex, never letting up as it accentuates every riff. The ghostly vocal wails, disjointed and sometimes quiet against the walls of guitars, make it sound like a curse is being placed upon you. There’s a cult, witch-like atmosphere that runs through, magickal and evil, highly comparable to the works of Mercyful Fate, Black Hole, or later bands like Negative Plane. While the Trad influence is still largely here, there’s even more focus on the Blackened elements than on their previous album, and the old-school Black Metal production reflects as such.
Songwriting-wise, Scimitar steps up the insanity with unhinged, jarring passages that are anything but easy to grasp on first listen. However, there is still a coherent structure to all of the songs hidden among the chaos, where discordant verses meet melodic chorus and hypnotic chants. It’s masterfully written to be both catchy and intense, with a sound that may not be understood by a large portion of extreme metal fans who find it sporadic and random.
There’s a lot going on in these songs, so give it a few tries if you like any occult-style Black Metal, you’ll end up catching a lot of things that you miss on previous listens.
