Review Summary: Russian death-heads prove that they can stand strong amidst a sea of dubious pretenders and run-of-the-mill attempts at the "throne" of deathcore.
Russian technical deathcore band
Under the Scythe formed in 2006 and released their debut EP -- simply titled
Demo -- in 2008. Since then, they have strengthened their grip on music theory and experimentation and have truly put these forces to work with their first LP,
The Truth Inside You, a twelve-track adventure into the minds of a particularly angry Russe.
I haven't heard much Russian music at all, let alone region-specific death metal, so I wasn't sure what to really expect. I was pleasantly surprised when I threw on this album (imported CDs FTW) and opening track "Zeitgeist" graced my ears. It's brutally fast and every aspect of the song feels well-balanced, if a bit lacking in harmony -- a good indicator of what the rest of the record sounds like. The technical guitars are reminiscent of
All Shall Perish's latest album, and the drums are an odd mix of
The Black Dahlia Murder's
Deflorate and
Job For a Cowboy's
Genesis. The vocals are
very fitting, and almost always varied. The vocalist rarely repeats himself, sound-wise, and he goes up and down the scales as much as the rhythm guitarist -- which is saying something. The vocal delivery is organic and well-executed, and it was probably the most interesting and fun aspect of the album as a whole. I love good death metal vocals and Under the Scythe really get it right.
Sometimes, the sound shifts and you can almost hear a track off of
Exoplanet, but then it sucker-punches you in the face with more brutality. A good example of this is the second track, "Merging With the Shadows", where a
The Contortionist vibe can really be felt. The influences are truly tremendous, and the album shines because of the band's openness to experimentation with their sound. You can find pianos, synth, string pads, and I swear I heard a harp somewhere in the last half of the album. These additions are well-placed and don't detract from the power of the album at all, but rather compliment it by changing the overall sound for a moment and giving us another instrumental layer to listen to. Listening closer, you have to wonder if All Shall Perish's
This is Where it Ends was one of the bigger influences to the album, because
The Truth Inside You really adds to that formula and integrates it into Under the Scythe's own style. The intro to "Where Light" is a great example of this, as is the outro to the preceding track, "Trapped By Hatred". The solo in "Where Light" is also incredibly enjoyable, and sounds like something a technical band like
The Faceless might include as a main riff.
My overall perception of
The Truth Inside You is that it is an incredibly well-written, well-structured, and well-executed musical creation. If I had any idea what they were saying, I would touch upon lyrical themes, but unfortunately I don't speak Russian. Between the tremendous vocal performances, the blisteringly fast drumming somehow kept under control by their drummer, the fittingly-technical guitarplay, and the experimental ambience,
The Truth Inside You and indeed Under the Scythe as a whole deserves a hell of a lot more recognition. Let's give a hand for the Russians, eh?
Recommended Tracks
1. "Zeitgeist"
2. "Merging With the Shadows"
3. "Trapped by Hatred"
7. "The Last Step"
8. "Third Line"
