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Scars Of Chaos - Humanitarian War Machine review



Reviewer:
8.0

4 users:
8
Band: Scars Of Chaos
Album: Humanitarian War Machine
Release date: May 2007


01. A New Era Of Light
02. Funeral For A World
03. Son Excellence De La Douleur
04. Intro Darker Than Hell
05. Darker Than Hell
06. Humanitarian War Machine
07. Chaos By Nature
08. A New Era Of Darkness
09. Lost To The Illusion Of Heaven

Are you feeling lonely? Are you feeling that life has lost its meaning? Are you feeling that happiness will never lay its smooth wings on you again, ever? Are you feeling that, ever since Anorexia Nervosa has been on hiatus, you have been down in the dumps and that nothing can take you out of the rut? Well, mourn no more! Scars Of Chaos has arrived!

Indeed, the first thing that comes to mind when listening to Humanitarian War Machine is that this really sounds a lot like Anorexia Nervosa. Although this impression tends to fade away a bit with time, there are still a lot of similarities between the two bands - besides the fact that they are French, of course. Both bands have lyrics in French and in English and the vocals often sound alike. Moreover, the songwriting methods are quite close: the keyboards are not used as a complement to the other instruments but they actually support the music - in fact, they are quite often the basis for the whole song, with the guitars only working as a rhythm section.

Though, despite this obvious influence, Scars Of Chaos stand out. Probably because, unlike Anorexia Nervosa, who thrived on melodies, Scars Of Chaos is raw, primitive and much more brutal. Their approach of hysterical symphonic black metal reminds a lot of the Norwegian scene represented by Emperor or Limbonic Art. Violence is everywhere, and the keyboards, instead of smoothing things over, contribute to the madness, with strange melodies and arrangements that go straight to the point (hear the ominous ending of "Darker Than All"). The rough production aims at emphasizing the chaotic side of the music and, even if the drums (great performance there, by the way) could have been made a bit more audible, this is a success.

Actually, the only little thing I can say against this release is that the omnipresence of brutality makes things a bit repetitive towards the end. Scars Of Chaos are always on full-blast mode, so you eventually lose track of things towards track 7. Varying the pace a bit would be a brilliant idea for the next release: the two times the band slowed down (on the end of the title track and on the excellent "Lost To The Illusion Of Heaven") they managed to create something truly personal and impressive.

But this is really a minor shortcoming, as eventually only two songs are not that good. Judging by this release, this band almost deserves the same recognition as their illustrious predecessors. If you like extreme symphonic music and/or black metal, this is definitely for you.

Highlights: A New Era Of Light, Son Excellence De La Douleur, Humanitarian War Machine, Lost To The Illusion Of Heaven.

Written by Deadsoulman | 24.11.2007




Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 20 users
24.11.2007 - 19:00
Fane

Heh. Listened A New Era Of Light while reading this and I must agree with you. It really reminds me from Emperor a bit and that keyboard is giving strange melodies. Anyway Im gonna get this album and listen through other albums..
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