Brazilian thrash band Scars aren't newcomers, but they can't be called as veterans either. This is the band's second only release after their debut on split album 'Ultimate Encore' with thrashers Distraught and Zero Vision.

Scars have been influenced by thrash metal brutality of 1980s. Mixture of both, German and USA style thrash, is formed into a working whole with skill and is spiced with a slight amount of Swedish death metal. There are bits of, among other things, old Sepultura, Exodus, Destruction and Testament in Scars' songs. Scars aren't primitive nor technical prodigies. The EP begins with two furious songs, and the slower yet bulldozing title track introduces some Arch Enemy style melodiousness into the proceedings. Henceforth the music becomes more diversified, but doesn't lose its edge. Zenith of the EP is ghastly fantastic death metal piece 'Hidden Roots of Evil'.

The best thing, together with working songs, is the guitar duo. Great, tight riffing and memorable solos are served with passion. The drums are programmed, I'm afraid. Okay, they are well done and probably took a lot of time to program, but they are really trebly and still too machinelike soundwise. The bass guitar is rumbling and fixes some problems that the usage of the drum machine inflicts. The vocals are too hardcorey for me, as they sound very Overdose-ish in their style. That means plain throaty shouting, and much less used lower voice is a lot better than the usual higher voice. The lyrics are about war and religions. Can you guess how they deal with those topics..? I bet you can.

Guys started a thrash band when the scene was oversaturated. Now, their thrash sounds good, not like they wanted to be stupid retro thrash wannabes. They need a flesh 'n blood drummer for sure. Scars are nothing original, but their alloy does work well, so I really wish they can eliminate their minor drawbacks.

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
01/15/2006 18:43