PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
With their fresh and unique twist on the Melodic Death genre, Scenario II return with a momentous new offering in the form of ‘A New Dawn’
From the dark and malevolent opening strains of intro track ‘The Darkest Hour’, I was hooked. Conjuring a vision of dark and desolate places deep within the locked corners of the mind, before launching into the title track with a kind of Killswitch meets Epica kind of vibe, beautifully harmonised female vocals counter balancing the demonic gruff male vocal, all set against a sea of riffs and blast beats that just thump you hard in the chest. Upcoming single release ‘Supremacy’, whilst slightly slower paced is no less effective, again displaying that perfect mix between the male and female vocal elements to great effect. Indeed, the whole album comes across as a wonderfully balanced body of work but what stood out for me was how fresh and different it sounds compared to the vast majority of other albums doing the rounds in the Melodic Death sphere at the moment
The level of performance by all concerned is nigh faultless, from searing riffs to soaring solos, insanely good drumming (just listening to the drum track on ‘Rapture’ will leave you breathless), and the previously alluded to mix of male and female vocals, it all just gels so well. There are a few, shall we say, more mellow moments on the album. ‘The Promised Wasteland’ offers a brief chance to draw breath before we pick up the pace once more for the incredibly catchy ‘Hysteria’. I’m sure as you listen to this album you will be able to pick out familiar elements and styles from such and such a band, or a myriad of subgenres but it’s the way ‘A New Dawn’ is put together that makes it in my view unique, a plethora of musical jigsaw pieces slotted into each other to form a spellbinding image of savagery and beauty. If one track on the album showcases ScenarioII in all their glory, ‘Disclosure’ would not be a bad choice of song to throw before you, melodic, raw, unbridled and hard hitting, whilst showing a great depth of emotion and feeling that make it damned impossible not to like
Scenario II with ‘A New Dawn’, have created a brutal animal that has been an utter joy and privilege to listen to. This without doubt should be high on your list of ‘wants’ when deciding what cd to shell out for next. If you like your Metal loud and uncompromising but with an intelligent and melodic backdrop, this album will satisfy your every desire
Recommended Track – A New Dawn
Track Listing,
The Darkest Hour
A New Dawn
Supremacy
Awake
Rapture
The Promised Wasteland
Hysteria
Endgame
Disclosure
Nocturnal
Stand Ablaze (In Flames cover)
ScenarioII line up,
Myrthe van Beest – Female Vocals
Bas de Kruyff – Vocals
Mark van Doren – Guitars
Simone van Straten – Guitars
Bas van den Boom – Drums
Liza Hoek – Bass
A New Dawn sees it’s release through Hysteria Music on February 17th
http://www.facebook.com/scenario2
