Scenteria
Art of Aggression
New Aeon Media
Sticking to the time-tested formula for greatness, “keep it simple and do it right the first time,” Sweden’s Scenteria toe the fine line between thrash acts like At The Gates and The Haunted and math-rock bands like Children of Bodom. Thankfully, these guys stray from the headache-inducing time shifts of Children of Bodom, opting instead to deliver a forward-moving plow of destruction and power.
Fans of mildly melodic death/thrash stuff will like Act of Aggression for the same reasons that they like The Haunted (hopefully they do!): guitars that sear and serrate with unbridled precision. Scenteria’s guitarists follow The Haunted’s manual for “How to Construct an Effective Death/Thrash Riff.” While, to many, this will be seen simply as a dishonorable rip-off tactic, I find it quite welcoming; if there’s any thrash band to emulate, The Haunted is the best. The vocals here are pretty standard fare mid-range barking, with an occasionally decipherable word. The drummer is solid, and he never really struts his stuff much, save for on the album’s closer, “The Abyss.” On this track, he busts out some pretty sweet fills.
Sadly, possibly because this is their first album, this band likes to stick close to their comfort zone: repetitive The Haunted riffs, mid-tempo beats and a very formulaic construction of songs. It’s fine with me, though. I really like the way these guys sound. Surely this album makes a nice addition to the consummate thrash fan’s record collection.
Karmageddon Media: http://www.karmageddonmedia.com
