Scarlet

The latest CD from Scarlet is 12 tracks of crunching guitars and grueling gutturals; just how I like it. This Was Always Meant to Fall Apart starts off with a calm vocal and guitar effect intro. The singing is top notch, and is used throughout the whole album here and there. I don’t think the later songs should have singing parts, as they sound a bit out of place, but that’s just me. I prefer the sound of having your dick caught in a garbage disposal come out of a dude’s throat.

I find that the album moves along at a decently fast pace. A lot of artists usually put a 7- minute pretentious interlude somewhere in the middle to mix things up, but Scarlet chose to bring the noise continuously. The music is well thought out, and the album seems to flow as you listen to it. The drumming is solid through out, with double kicks coming in at key moments to spruce things up a bit.

If you’re a fan of breakdowns, this album might not be your thing. I found that a lot of the parts aren’t too heavy sounding when you listen to them on the album (it’s obviously different when you see them live), but when you’re sitting there listening to it on your iPod or whatever it is you kids use these days, it doesn’t give you those “this is fucking heavy” shivers.

Track 5, titled “On Fire” is fairly heavy sounding, with a “TEARS WILL FALL” chant about 1:45 in. I would have to say that this song and the next one, “Glass Veined Wire Frames” stood out for me the most. The latter has some crazy riffs put on top of chugging guitars, and although a lot of bands have been doing that recently, the riff that I heard when I first listened to this track definitely stuck in my head. The song also has some catchy singing parts that will keep you coming back.

Because the album is not really focused a lot on “breakdowns,” many of the songs tend to sound the same. I think this is one of those albums that you have to be in the mood for and listen to from beginning to end. It’s hard to pick out a song that stays with you (other than the ones I just mentioned), but that’s just me. Overall, I liked this album, but the reason that I couldn’t fully dig it is because of the above fact; having to be in the mood for it.

This band already has quite a following, as a lot of people, including myself, are fans of their previous work. I think this new album is a change up from what I originally heard from these guys, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s one of those albums that I’m going to give it a listen every once in a while, but I can’t see it becoming a regular on my play list. It’s not bad at all; I’m just a heavier person. I give this joint 7.5/10.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Obsolete
02. Swarm Manifesto
03. Antibiotics
04. The Separation of
05. On Fire
06. Glass Veined Wire Frames
07. Simply Carcinogen
08. Plastic Saints
09. Law is Lawless
10. Lyssophobia
11. The Embrace of a Paramedic
12. Apocolyptic Love Song

Run Time: 34:14