SCYTHIAN – Hubris in Excelsis

‘Hubris in Excelsis’ is the second full-length from UK death-thrashers Scythian. Up til now, you may have had an excuse to be ignorant of this band but now that you have read this review that has thankfully been dispelled! Scythian have the energy, power and atmosphere of the best black or death metal, but the melody and riffage of whatever your favourite thrash act is. Which has got to be good by any standards! The production is meaty and heavy, with chugging guitars and plenty of depth all round. The instrumental performances are excellent too – from the shredding guitars to the almost-hoarse vocals and spot on rhythm section. Overall though, the songs are the star. Where these guys got the skill to put together such dynamic, exciting and musically interesting songs is beyond me, but they have done it here. It isn’t often that you hear a relatively unknown band like this who can play with such confidence and put an album together this capably. And not only do the do the basics well, Scythian have a slight progressive edge and are willing to explore and incorporate different textures and vibes, meaning this is an album that delivers to the head as well as the heart. Definitely worth the price of admission.

 

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