Review Summary: Brothers don’t shake hands, brothers gotta riff
Withering Scorn is an intriguing project that features Glen and Shawn Drover in their first collaboration post-Megadeth alongside classic Fates Warning bassist Joe DiBiase and journeyman vocalist Henning Basse. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that Prophets of Demise hearkens even further back into the brothers’ history, its dark power-thrash coming off like a throwback to their days in Eidolon. It’s certainly got more sense of purpose than your usual Frontiers fare.
And with these musicians having crossed paths in other projects, it makes sense for them to show off some solid chemistry here. The guitars and drums are as tight together as one would expect, the former dispensing the sort of speedy molten chugs and flailing solos that would do Jeff Loomis proud while th r latter have a consistently booming presence without getting too intricate. Part of me wishes the vocals were a bit more theatrical, but the gritty baritone gets the job done with a few nicely placed falsettos for good measure.
The songwriting also balances punchy structures with a dramatic overcast in forty minutes time. Most of the songs are fairly straightforward numbers with the title track kicking things off in rousing fashion, the riff set on “The Vision” feeling like King Diamond on steroids, and “Dethroned” and “Never Again” coming toward the end with some of the most impactful refrains. It’s also good to see the band pushing their dynamics as “Pick Up The Pieces” and “Dark Reflections” digging the deepest into extreme thrash while “Ancient Desire” and the closing “Eternal Screams” coming the closest to more atmospheric territory.
As much as I wish Prophets of Demise had a bit more pizzaz to it, it ultimately portrays Withering Scorn as a worthy supergroup. I’m a sucker for this sort of dark power metal style and the musicians work well in mixing aggression and melody. It would’ve been great to see a greater emphasis on catchiness or even more melodic excursions, but this template gives them more to work off of for any future efforts. At the very least, it’s nice to see brothers coming back together.
