SCAVANGER - Rise of the Scarab review

 SCAVANGER - Rise of the Scarab

7Hard

http://www.scavanger.de/

The band was formed in Germany in 2001 and they started as a cover school band under the name SCAVENGER. It seems that somehow they realized the existence of other bands with the same name and changed it into SCAVANGER. So far they have released two full length albums under the title “Giving Entrance” in 2010 and “Between the Devil and the Sea” in 2011. Now, 4 years after the release of their sophomore album SCAVANGER have their new album ready under the title “Rise of the Scarab” which will be released on 16^th October 2015.       

THE COVER: As I have already mentioned the title of the new album includes the word scarab which was an insect very respectful in Egypt, while also Edgar Alan Poe wrote a short novel mentioning the scarab. It seems that the Egyptian mythology has influenced the band and on the cover where the red color dominates you can see the wings that ancient Egyptians used when they were depicting the scarab. On the center of the wings you can also notice a tribal drawing. The cover is simple and yet straight to the point.     

MUSICAL STYLE: There is something interesting that I have to mention here. The label of the band on the bio sheet mentions that they play nu metal. They couldn’t be more wrong. The musical style of the band is traditional heavy metal with some power metal elements. They might be from Germany, but their sound is closer to the U.S. and the N.W.O.B.H.M. sound. Actually there are a lot of N.W.O.B.H.M. references to their songs and also they have melodies that bring to our mind IRON MAIDEN, but they do it in their own way. On their speedy compositions someone also can thing of RIOT. It is true that it is hard to be innovative and ground breaking, but you can create fresh compositions that have personality and I think that this is where SCAVANGER succeed. Actually all this 80’s metal feeling comes out very naturally from their sound.           

CONCLUSION: I have nothing more to add here. “Rise of the Scarab” is a well worked and performed album of traditional heavy metal and I think that the fans of this genre will find here songs to enjoy for a long time.   

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis