Scarcity
The Promise of Rain

2.0
poor

Review

by InfernalDeity CONTRIBUTOR (40 Reviews)
July 12th, 2024 | 48 replies

Release Date: 07/12/2024 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Weird, and not in a good way.

It's hard to connect the dots when the paper eats your pen. Scarcity's brand of metal doesn't abide by traditional conceptions of melody. In fact, I have always found metal to be similar to comedy from a structural prospective. Comedians set up their jokes with a layer of extreme tension. However, once that tension is released the natural response is laughter. Metal uses a similar method, but instead of laughter the listener experiences cathartic bliss. Scarcity's debut abandoned that concept entirely. In my review of Aveilut, I likened the experience to my own personal struggle with anxiety and hypertension. My breathing would become shallow. My thoughts would slow. Temperature would drop. Speech limited. Until. All. I. Could. Manage. Was. A. Single. Word. That word was fear. Despite my personal discomfort, I gave their debut a pretty high rating. I wouldn't say I found the record enjoyable (at least not in its typical connotation) but I was in awe of their ability to capture those sentiments.

Unfortunately, Scarcity decided to take a different direction for their second release. The Promise of Rain is exceedingly more accessible than Aveilut, and in my opinion, the spell has been broken because of it. The band has chosen to abandon much of the themes that made their debut, well, refreshing. The song structures in the Promise of Rain are generic and rather dull. Nevertheless, I would categorize both releases as jarring, but for different reasons. Aveilut was a shock to the system, whereas The Promise of Rain is just perplexing. The use of gang vocals in Venom & Cadmium is completely unwarranted and pointless. The only elements that Aveilut successfully recycled is their use of repetition to create a trance like atmosphere, but it simply isn't as poignant on this release as it was on their debut. The strongest track on this record is Scorched Vision which introduces some interesting takes on Death-Doom into the mix, but the lack of a common theme ushers this track into the line up of a hodgepodge playlist that will probably be rarely listened to.

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Scarcity The Promise of Rain

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Scarcity
The Promise of Rain