niedziela, 23 kwietnia 2023

A review of Scitalis "Doomed Before Time"

 

Scitalis

"Doomed Before Time"

Vendetta Rec. 2022

Scitalis is a young band from Umeå, Sweden, formed just three years ago, and "Doomed Before Time" is their debut full-lenght. I met the band somewhat by chance, on the occasion of a concert in my hometown, and as their music sounded interesting, I decided to check out their recordings from a physical medium as well. On the said album we get eight tracks in the climate of Swedish black metal. In their compositions, the quartet classically combines cold aggression with predatory melody. The album is dominated by fast tempos with tremolo riffing driving under the skull, being like an intense blizzard, hitting with all its force straight in the eyes. At the same time, you can hear that the band places great emphasis on variety, as the chords change quite often, even if they are accompanied by a leitmotif looped in the background. The gentlemen do not shy away from tempo changes either, but even these slower parts are not devoid of venom. It can be said that some passages, such as the opening "Eye of Leviathan" or the short interlude in "Beneath" sound even mystical and mysterious, which definitely deepens the sinister atmosphere of the lot. Similar in tone are the vocals. Without unnecessary experimentation, they are based on a harsh shriek, full of hatred and aggression. If to this we add the classic Scandinavian sound of the second wave period, the result is a very coherent album, which is a true black metal monolith, devoid of weak points. One might say that it's all been played before, that there's nothing revelatory here. Because there isn't, and that's probably not what its authors had in mind. You can hear that Scitalis live  what they create and everything flows naturally from their black hearts. Where does this certainty come from? Well, from the fact that nothing here is pushed by force and the album is listened to in one breath. If names such as Dawn, Sacramentum, Naglfar, or even our native Mgła, are close to your taste, then Scitalis will be just for you, and you can confidently put "Doomed Before Time" next to the aforementioned names on your shelf.

- jesusatan

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