Does Phil Anselmo even front Scour anymore because whoever the beast that’s singing here sounds nothing like the guy who fronts Superjoint and Down. Never mind the iconic voice that wailed for the progenitors of modern groove metal, this dude who fronts Scour is a fucking monster!
On Red, Scour’s second release, the all star underground metal line up expand upon their sound tenfold by wholly embracing their hybrid metal style with Anselmo adopting a ferocious vocal approach (Holy shit, is “Piles” nuts!) along with backing vocalists John Jarvis (Pig Destroyer) and Derek Engemann (Cattle Decapitation). From the second Anselmo’s roar cries out during the opening of the title track, which switches from a Black Metal opus to an Extreme Metal thrasher (And indicative of that “hybrid” sound) in an instant, listeners can easily hear the evolution from Grey.
Later, “Bleak” settles into a sweet pummeling groove with Anselmo’s throated delivery screaming out over Adam Jarvis’ impressive percussive pounding and John Jarvis’ subtle bass hum. “Sentenced” is akin to an Italian horror movie score (Which Anselmo recently chatted about with us here) and serves as a creepy interlude before “Shank” repeatedly stabs your earholes with pointed beats and razor sharp riffs (Courtesy of Chase Fraser and Engemann) then drifts off into the dark abyss.
Barely sixteen minutes of music total yet it’s some of the most memorable metal to be released this year, Red will be unleashed through Housecore Records on November 3rd. Get yours by clicking here or here.