Review: “In This Dying Sun” by Scattered Storm

The return of El Paso Texas supergroup Scattered Storm who feature in their ranks a collection of seasoned musicians known for their work in No Life on Earth, Years of Cold,  Mondoshawan, Section 6, Pissing Razors, Hereafter the Wave, Random Allusion and Limerance with a sophomore EP “In This Dying Sun” so soon after their debut “Oblivion” is a welcome surprise. Recorded in 2021 at Empty Paradise Studios with vocalist Andre Accosta and drummer, keyboardist Jay Arriaga collaborating on the writing during the recording process, this one finds previous collaborator Brian Ramos now as the bands full time bassist in place of Eddie Garcia…

In This Dying Sun” picks up where “Oblivion” left off as if the band never left the studio with an eerie synth introduction bringing in the stomping opening of “Bloody Love“. An eclectic cut that has some Gothic vocal moments, Thrash riffs and deliberately primitive programming, it sounds like a Mushroomhead demo from the late 90s, raw and intriguing with more plot twists than a page turning thriller. Reminiscent of Red Method, “The Process” has a schizophrenic feel to the lyrical narrative and vocal delivery as if Accosta is about to tear himself apart in front of a shattered mirror while the riffs batter at your skull. There is little doubt that these new cuts are darker and more personal than the first record while there is also a little more bark and bite as if the shackles are off this time around. “Hollow” offers beauty in clean vocals and twisted melodies while Kevin Armstrong’s riffs keep up the energy levels but it’s the stuccato riff breaks of title track “In This Dying Sun” that ignite the fires. Punching like Prong with its tight rhythms, the clean vocals cut against the grain offering a decent balance between melodic and heavy with Accosta having some moments eerily reminiscent of the much missed Matt Holt of Nothingface. That continues into “Seen” before the spine juddering riffs and unclean roar take hold like a designer drug fueled rage in bombastic style. Where Scattered Storm go from here is going to be intriguing given the waves of turbulence and  eccletic violence found here [7/10]

Track Listing

  1. Bloody Love
  2. The Process
  3. Hollow
  4. In this Dying Sun
  5. Seen

In This Dying Sun” by Scattered Storm is out 11th November 2022 via Blood Blast Distribution

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