CD Review: The Resistance – Scars
Armoury Records
All Access Rating: A-
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| The Resistance- Scars 2013 |
Yelling out, “Fire in the hole” right before “Clearing the
Slate” erupts into all-out war Marco Aro has sufficiently
warned all who enter Scars, the debut
full-length album cut by Swedish death-metal butchers The Resistance, that they
do so at their own risk. Their lawyers might make everyone sign a waiver as
well, because the brute-force intensity of Scars
isn’t good for anybody with a heart condition.
Seething with white-hot rage, The Resistance’s fire-starter
gives Hatebreed’s Divinity of Purpose
a run for its money as 2013’s fiercest metal-core conflagration. Made up of
ex-In Flames guitarists Jesper Stromblad and Glenn Ljungstrom, drummer Chris
Barkensjo (formerly of Kaamos and Repugnant) and Facedown’s growling Aro, the
one-time vocal flamethrower for The Haunted, The Resistance traffics in blistering speed,
tight hooks, crunching riffs, bullet-proof production and frenzied dynamics on Scars.
Smashing through the door like a renegade swat team,
“Clearing the Slate” and “Your Demise” are fast and furious attacks that leave
no survivors, and “To the Death” – lasting only 1:25 – is even more frantic,
the battling elements of double kick-drum beatings and Aro’s guttural bellow
lending a black urgency to a hard-hitting song that beckons and gurgles for
last rites. And just when it seems that The Resistance is ready to go heavy and
slow things down on “Expand the Empire,” as they do in the track’s menacing
intro, they suddenly fire up the engine and open the throttle again to see what
this clean-running machine can really do.
Surgical in its precision and shockingly brutal, Scars has more going for it than raw
horsepower and violent lyrics. There’s not a wasted note on the record, and
there’s nothing uncertain or hesitant about how The Resistance goes about their
business. It’s not often that they change tempos, but when they do, the sleight
of hand is almost imperceptible – except in the case of the epic, if somewhat
heavy-handed, closer “(I Will) Die Alone,” the most melodic and emotionally
affecting of Scars’ infernos. Even
when “Warmonger” and “Eye for an Eye” – maybe the weightiest songs on Scars –
downshift into more of a prowling tempo and stalking movements, there are
reasons for doing so. They are setting you up for the kill, which comes quickly
in the overdriven title track, continuing the relentless ferocity that
threatens to consume Scars.
Influenced by Entombed, Dismember and Grave, Scars is the aural equivalent of
sticking your head in a blast furnace at full heat. On the blood-red cover is a
collection of skulls. Those are probably the skeletal remains of those who
couldn’t handle the extreme nature of The Resistance’s sonic onslaught. http://www.eagle-rock.com/
- – Peter Lindblad
