Scarab - Martyrs of the Storm (2020) Hi-Res

Well here’s a band that doesn’t rush things. Going under the name of Scarab, these Egyptian death metallers have been around since 2006 and are only at their 3rd full length release. With 5 years between records, they definitely have the time to deliver solid content. Not straight up my alley in style but undeniable in quality, this new monster called “Martyrs of the Storm” is a beautifully horrendous display of gruesome old-school death metal. I’ve seen a lot of associations of this band with Morbid Angel and of course due to their origin and influences, you cannot overlook some resemblance with Nile, but despite these appeals to big names, they stand tall on self-conquered ground.

A key element of this band’s sound is the muddy production of their music, that sounds kind of like “dirty gold” from the lack of a better metaphor. They are masters of the low-fi, keeping an overall gritty harsh tone that may very well resemble the harshness of a sand storm. This stands at the center of their sound as the main defining trait. It’s obviously intended to be so and it’s properly expressive, also aligning neatly with the composition. This album is a juggernaut on the riffs, focusing on low-end chugging and even dragging notes. It’s not slow (mostly mid paced) but does feel like a stomping giant when considering the heavy grooves on the guitar riffs and bass. It also brings some sweet tempo changes in a somewhat Death-esque manner which definitely adds some dynamic to a mostly static and iterative approach. The backbone of this gory spectrum is in the even more skeletal sound of the drums. Mainly focused on double pedaling and blasts, yet strumming nicely through the chunkier riffs with neat triggered transitions and variations. The sound is again stiff and dirty, but the delivery is super articulate and that shines through.

How to front a grinder if not with more grinding? Scarab’s voice is that of a mummified pharaoh haunting the world from beyond the grave (with sand in his teeth). The vocals are where this band most resembles Nile, with a beastly well executed growl dominating the album, Sometimes he also does a very rhythmic fast sync with the instrumental in a more tech-death manner. Overall it does not vary much in the vocals (except is that throat singing at the end of the title track?).

Could there actually be melody among the deathly bellows of dead pharaohs? Actually yes. The soloing on this album is on point, also in a more classic death metal style. There are some solid technical speed runs ripping through this album, flashing nicely ahead of the grunting tones of the record. The opening title track alone has 2 extended solo sections turning the song into a sublime voyage on the fretboard. But even more surprising are the nicely harmonized dual guitar leads that come through at given moments. And a bit more melody and even atmosphere comes through the subdued background of orchestrations that lies in murky gloom behind the heavy delivery of the album. Scarab then seals the deal with just a tinge of mystery closing the last track as all evil souls of long forgotten past drag their corpses back into their tombs. And I probably should’ve written this in hieroglyphs cos it’s that expressive.

Now THAT was out of my comfort zone, but I’m glad I had the nerve to push through and make sense of this record. It’s not the most extremely technical or flashy album, but a few spins will grab the attention of even the most avid fans of the technical or progressive death metal approaches. It’s also not bouncy and glammy or really prototypical in any way. So I guess what I’m trying to send through is, don’t expect the most user friendly interface, but given the time you’ll dig up gold from this record. There are some catchier tracks like “Circles of Verminejya” or “Coffin Texts”, and yes there are some flashy solos, but I feel like the overall expressiveness of this album’s gritty tone really makes it worthwhile. For my taste it is too static in style but for fans of the death classics, it kind of checks out that it’s a must. Give Scarab a go if I have peaked your interest. Out March 6th through Vicisolum Records.