THE RESISTANCE – Scars

The four-piece Swedish death metal act The Resistance consists of some well-known musicians within the metal ranks. Guitarists Jesper Stromblad and Glenn Ljungstrom of course had ties to Hammerfall, Dimension Zero and In Flames, with vocalist Marco Aro formerly involved in The Haunted. Drummer Christofer Barkensjo is the relative unknown, but if you do a Metal Archives search on the web you’ll discover he’s been behind the kit for a number of different death/thrash bands. 5 months after their "Rise from Treason" EP infiltrated our ears, we get the 12 song debut full length- so no rest for the weary, as these gentlemen mean business.

Imagine if you can a set of musicians who express a love for old school Swedish death metal- and filtering in segments of the best hardcore beats and riffs at times to push the energy factor that much higher- and this is what you’ll get with "Scars". Delight in the 87 second punk burst that is "To the Death"- turned in the other direction with a mid-tempo anthem that would make Sam Black Church maniacs proud with Entombed envy on "Expand to Expire". Marco screams, shouts, and bleeds for the cause as the best in the death / hardcore/ thrash business should- provoking, inciting, and channeling all negative emotions through his words and delivery- be it slower to match the doom sludge for "Imperfected" or spitfire within "My Madness". Nothing fancy here- even in longer material such as the 4:42 closer "(I Will) Die Alone" (very close to older "Whoracle" era In Flames musically) there’s this overriding sense of simplicity in terms of Jesper and Glenn’s guitar harmonies, matching up beautifully to this heavy drum back beat.

Will "Scars" when kudos from critics at year’s end? Probably not- and I don’t think this quartet really cares. The Resistance aim squarely at the heart of the metal community, and fire death/ hardcore-like salvos many will hail and praise.

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