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SHED THE SKIN
We Of Scorn

Hells Headbangers (2018)
Rating: 8/10

We Of Scorn is the second full-length release from Ohio-based ensemble Shed The Skin, providing ten tracks of uncompromising and very much 100% death metal.

From opener ‘From Tortured Realms’ to closer ‘Forever’, this outfit plies the listener with melancholic strains which develop into gruelling yet melodic heaps. Imagine a thicker, denser Slayer in those thrashier segments as each track builds with suspense to become a hammering tool of brutality where you’re force fed those vocal gargles and accessibly yet gnarly structures.

For those who may not be familiar with Shed The Skin, it’s certainly worth noting the experience of the members, with a line-up of Ash Thomas (vocals and guitar, FaithXtractor / Crucified Mortals / Vladimirs), Matt Sorg (guitar, Ringworm / ex-From The Depths), Ed Stephens (bass, Ringworm / Vindicator) and Kyle Severn (drums, Incantation / ex-Acheron / ex-Funerus).

As one would expect, there’s very much a thrashing death metal feel throughout. The vocals range from snarling rasps to deep, guttural coughs. And there’s a great variation of pace too, the title cut being a prime example of the band and their flexibility as they race with haste and aggression, melodiously carving grating strands of death / thrash and coating them with those sickly vocal smears.

Also, the slower catchier twists and turns provide a really perverse nature to proceedings. Prime examples of this are the climax of the aforementioned title track, and the chugging intensity of the catchy ‘Trepanning Sanity’ which then suddenly bursts with speed.

We Of Scorn is a solid effort throughout, although the flavour isn’t necessarily old school; at times there’s more of a mid-to-late 90s style of gushing death metal.

Personal favourites on offer are the pacey ‘Luminous Transgression’ and the longest track ‘Serpentspawn Upheaval’, where Severn earns his stripes with those feisty bangs on skin. But again that dismal air of melancholy becomes prevalent as the team slows to a trudging, slurpy air of menace, and for me that’s where Shed The Skin’s ultimate power lies as they build the gargantuan rhythms up steadily. This is also showcased on the doomy traipse of ‘Tetrarchy Past’, where the guitars just worm and wind with such perversity as those vocal burps command with gruff aplomb.

Those wanting faster flourish need look no further than ‘A Stone Awoke The Titan which brings heavy bouts of aggression, but always remains agreeable as the combo join forces to provide a hurried mass of thick, clotting structures. This is also displayed with the monolithic ‘Forever’ where again the thrash, and, dare I say it, black metal nuances are witnessed and the vocals become dry evil rasps, bringing to a close a sturdy, often destructive but always catchy death metal record of some quality.

Neil Arnold

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