Album Review: Scarlet Anger - Dark Reign

Scarlet Anger [Luxembourg]
Dark Reign
2012
Full Length
Dust on the Tracks
Thrash Metal

Scarlet Anger hails from Luxembourg, the first from the country that I actually encounter and Dark Reign is their rather impressive debut full length release. Finding new bands from countries that I have never heard from before is always interesting, with the possibilities of discovering new sounds and styles being one of the main reason draw, and before listening to Dark Reign this was certainly one of the main hopes that I had. However, one would soon realise that nothing is really reinvented here on Dark Reign, though one would soon come to appreciate the pretty excellent music that is crafted on the album.

Unfortunately Scarlet Anger starts off rather weakly with New God Rising, with the main issue perhaps being the band's inability to bring out the energy immediately. The sudden shift from an aggressive style to the melodic chorus also sounded slightly awkward, though the riffs that are on the track are honestly pretty decent. However, if one looks past New God Rising, the band starts to gradually grow on the listener, with each song on the album starting to sound better than the previous, and things really start to pick up only on Game Over onwards. The Exodus influence on Scarlet Anger's music is clear, from the riffing style of guitarists Jeff and Fred, the heavy grooves that are present at times in the band's music and the mix of the bass of Vincent throughout the album. The aggressive moments also remind listeners of Teutonic lords like Kreator and Destruction.There is also that vocal styling of Joe, who manages to display a rather impressive range for the style that he is utilising, managing to go from the angry shout a la Rob Dukes to the gruff screams of Mille Petrozza. There are even moments where he attempts clean singing like on Face of Evil, bringing in a slight melodic death metal feel along with the instrument section of the band.

Thrash bands of late have seemed to begin to include more melodic moments on their material, and Scarlet Anger isn't different, as the album often sees the band break into moments of melody in between aggressive segments. For example, while From Fool to King is an overall rather aggressive track with razor sharp riffing and constant blasting by Alain, the chorus is rather melodic and is the softest moment on the track. Whether this is a good thing or not is certainly up to the listener, though there are times when the band's attempts to do so result in quite awkward transitions, breaking the momentum that the band has gathered. Fortunately, mostly such moments are avoided and done so rather tastefully, and as the album progresses there are fewer of these awkward moments and the melodic elements are displayed in the riffing patterns instead.

If one loved the recent release of bands like Exodus and Kreator, Scarlet Anger's debut Dark Reign would certainly be a rewarding experience if one manages to look past the pretty weak start to the album as it gets increasingly better towards the end.



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©2012 Heavy Metal Tribune | Hong Rui