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This is the German five piece's debut album. They mix thrash metal sounds with the gothic, which provides variety, but proves to be an uneasy marriage if you are only a fan of one of these styles. "Infinity" starts with elegiac guitar and distorted male vocals low in the mix. There is a strummed acoustic guitar. I'm intrigued. Sadly "Choke Down" is thrash metal, though the band don't abandon subtlety or use of dynamics. This style of screamed vocals doesn't do much for me. "Break To Arise" is intense, but repetitive.
Around four minutes into "Make Me Clear" there's drumming that sounds like the beginning of The A-Team, which is suffused with melancholy guitar. The emotional impact is strong. Possibly there are metal fans out there that dislike this lighter side of the band, but for a minute and a half I'm intrigued emotionally and intellectually. "Hold The Lights You Own" starts quietly, before launching into a Moonspell-style outburst. It's an Established Fact that music that is quiet, and then loud, then quiet again is A Good Thing. This proves to be the case. End of Green's vocalist Michelle Darkness, provides the vocals. End of Green make a much more listenable racket, which might explain why this song appeals to me. "Phoenix" is mainly noise, with added twiddling guitars, but has moments of interesting darkness. "Not To Breathe" has a gentle Cure-ish feel to the guitars, but soon launches into lumbering metal madness. There's heavy riffing for the first two and a half minutes of "Worn Out" before a half minute interlude of ringing guitar. Scratched Surface have an admirable versatility, mixing the heavy and the light. Sadly in my case I only like the quieter, more melancholy aspects of the band. Scratched Surface are for those who wish to delve into heavier waters than I. |
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