Review: Scum Sentinel - Sentinel of Scum (2011)

Review published by Jessica Simard on 2011-09-20

Scum Sentinel - Sentinel of Scum This is black metal.

I've pointed out the obvious and you just have to listen to the first track of this album, Dark Primitive Rituals, to be convinced of this. First things first, I love the album cover, It's awesome enough to make me curious about what's inside and I had heard a lot of good feedback before listening to the album. Besides, who doesn'like the idea of a nun riding a bomb? Its got irony written all over.

The album was released this year (2011). It was self-recorded by the band between 2008 and 2009 and the songs were put together from 1999 to 2007. For those wondering why Dark Primitive Rituals sounds so familiar, Scum Sentinel (correct me if I'm wrong) is ex- Elfire, who realeased a demo of the same name in 2006.

Lets face it, 8 years to write an album is a long time, so if you add up my excitement about reviewing the album and the fact that it took so long to put together, I was expecting a black metal masterpiece.

After I listened to the album for the first time, I wasn't sure what to say, thus the first sentence of the review. I didn't want to bash the band on my first impression of the album, but I didn't want to suger-coat anything either, so I listen to it again a few days later when I had a fresh ear for it and knew what to expect.

I must admit, it's a good album. It's not reinventing the genre, but I highly doubt that was the goal anyways and having seen the band live in Montreal, I could only assume and it is highly possible that they don't care. Sentinel of Scum follows what I qualify as a good use of the "black metal recipe". You will find everything you like about black metal: distortion, fast guitars, classic black metal drums, evil intent, darkness in all it forms, all combined to make what we call black metal.

I found myself banging my head to some of the more catchy riffs and rewinding to parts of certain songs for example: the demon-esque voices in Blasphemic Mental Decomposition. W.Solstice has done a good job at finding a unique voice to put over Scum Sentinels music. I kind of like the not so gutteral sound. It's hard to explain, and you'll have to listen for yourself, but I would say it sounds more angry. Also, I have to give them credit for the fact that their songs are actually memorable enough to remember after a first listen which cannot be said about many bands out there. The work put in this album is undeniable and the results are excellent. In the end I found myself impressed with the overall quality of it and by quality I mean, lyrical content, musicianship and overall sound. Scum Sentinel has a "true" and "no-gimmicks" approach to their music. What you hear is what you get, no bullshit included. So in terms of getting their message across these guys nailed it.

Sentinel of Scum is a black metal album, made by black metal musicians for black metal fans. And it will be a satisfying listen to all those who enjoy this genre of metal.

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