Scum –
The idea of a “supergroup” is nothing new to the Norwegian metal scene… black metal in particular. The very basis of such a union was solely responsible for the explosion of black metal and also some truly inspiring music throughout the 90’s. Talented musicians spreading their creative fertility around never seemed like a negative thing to me due to the undeniable quality and timeless music found during that era. The phenomenon is still very much a common practice, but honestly… in 2006 it often feels more like a business decision than people coming together to simply explore the boundaries (or lack thereof) of their combined talents and for the need of creating music with feeling. Having said that… Scum seems like one of those projects, for all the people involved have come from successful bands in their own right, to converge upon an albums worth of strangely simplistic and honestly –uninspired- punked out metal. The roster: Casey Chaos (Amen), Samoth and Faust (formerly of Emperor), Cosmocrator (Mindgrinder) and Happy Tom (Turbonegro). I guess this gathering would indeed point to more of a punk affinity than it would the return of necro Norge blackness, but I’ve had a lot of difficulty getting into the whole of “Gospels of the Sick”. The biggest obstacle for me is Casey’s vocals and overall attitude. He sounds like a decent punk singer, but being able to comprehend every word and the psuedo tough guy pitch singing style rubs me the wrong way. Even if this was a straight up punk record, his performance still wouldn’t earn my appreciation since this is a style of singing that I’ve never fully embraced anyway. The music he’s attempting to uglify is what it is… straightforward, hook laden/largely power chord based songs that fall into a verse/chorus/verse chorus structure. Such a delivery would have been fine, but every song sounds familiar to me. Even on the first listen. When you hear the key or riff change in your head before it happens, you know this band is perhaps emulating their influences a little too closely. Expect a clean production and some very competent playing, but “Gospels of the Sick” really just feels like a filler album. Perhaps this would have been a lot more enjoyable in a live setting? Anyway… further guest vocal appearances include Nocturno Culto, Euroboy (Turbonegro) and Mortiis. One big happy family I suppose. – Marty
CANDLELIGHT RECORDS
Worm Gear 