Review Summary: Purple and teal all the way.
Oh, the 90s! The 90s were fun, right? Beyond the questionable clothing choices, eyebrow piercings and spiky hairdos, a new era of metal dawned, an era characterized by, well, questionable clothing choices, eyebrow piercings and spiky hairdos. At a time when both artists and listeners are rediscovering long-forgotten subgenres and the corresponding joys of bygone days, it is about time to refine, or better yet, reinvent the sound of that true golden age, that epitome of a trend gone wrong, as it were.
Enter Once Human's
Scar Weaver, an album that captures the spirit of that very era like no other release in recent memory has managed to do. And it covers all aspects of it, too: Whether it is the angsty lyrics, the pulsing, bouncy rhythms or the weird guitar tones somewhere between pinch harmonics and sprinkles of disharmony that you are missing most – these guys have got you covered.
As does the gal. While the novelty of female-fronted bands is slowly but surely wearing off, women performing extreme vocals are still perceived as gimmicky by many, if online discussions are anything to go by. Considering the fact that Lauren Hart started as a guitarist, it is all the more impressive how she has grown into her role as a singer over the course of the past eight years. Sure, her comparably mid-pitched growls, which, judging by their prominent presence throughout the album, seem to be what she is most comfortable with, might get a little monotonous after a handful of songs, but those are simply used to establish a baseline of sorts. If anything, they give the guitars and drums some much needed breathing room, because once she really gets going, she completely dominates the song and commands the listener’s full attention. Effortlessly switching between soul-shattering, almost banshee-esque melodic screams, siren cleans and those basic, but nonetheless efficient growls, she leaves no doubt (pun intended?) that she is the star of the show here. Lauren was solid on the first album and showed a lot of promise on the second, but this mind-blowingly wide array of techniques and their masterful implementation make for an absolutely stellar display of skill and talent. Her choice of melodies poses another highlight. Intentional or not, some of these choruses feel like they could have very well been written by Burton C. Bell, Phil Anselmo or Layne Staley, respectively. Bam! 90s!
As for the actual instrumentation, most arrangements are composed of relatively simple chord progressions that range from imaginative to predictable and are often overlaid with more playful, dreamy leads. One aspect
Scar Weaver struggles with is its lack of tempo changes and the resulting reliance on mid-tempo. Combined with the competent, but ultimately linear writing, one could argue that the album as a whole is a somewhat stale experience from a technical standpoint. That said, Max Karon, who wrote most of it, always finds a way to inject some weird little details in order to lend the songs more texture. For example,
Deadlock (featuring an acquired-taste-y, definitely 90s-up-the-wazoo performance by Robb
Durst Flynn), showcases gradually descending chords reminiscent of Car Bomb’s work. Little twists and quirky ideas like that more often than not mitigate the absence of splashy S-tier riffs. Pick scraping, high-pitched tritones and feedback loops with reverb - all in there, all super 90s.
The rhythm section is a little understated, but gets the job done. The drums, in classic 90s fashion, are very groove-oriented and double bass–focused, so truly creative fills or complex time signatures are few and far between. The bass … is there. It sits too low in the mix most of the time, but gets cranked up every so often. Handled by Logan Mader, the production in general is clean and modern without sounding completely soulless. The vocals are ridiculously overproduced, which is not necessarily a bad thing, though. Did I mention they sound freaking stunning?
Had this album been released 25 years ago, it could have made quite the splash. In 2022,
Scar Weaver is a strong showing with many standout moments, particularly in the vocal department. Despite the minimalistic premise, the band manages to create an original melange of styles and soundscapes, giving each song its own identity. Also, it is just fun to listen to. You know, fun, like we had in the 90s.
