Review: “Woebegone, Raised By Wolves” by The Scars In Pneuma

A year after their well received “The Eerie Chronicles” split EP with Ogen, the return of The Scars in Pneuma with five new cuts recorded over a three month period between December 2022 and February 2023 is an intriguing one. Once again entirely home recorded and produced, “Woebegone, Raised by Wolves” is a multifaceted burnt offering from a group of musicians whose style is unique enough to border on the niche. That might sound like a cliché but the truth is they are a band hard to Pidgeon hole, taking elements from a variety of sub-genres from Black Metal, Doom and even Death Metal to create something eerie in their own vision…

Slow paced Melodic Black Metal with a sense of impending doom with the specialism of Italian trio The Scars In the Pneuma, their ability to create songs with a dark beauty and a sense of dull ache something evidenced over the past six years. Slightly unsettling, the introduction instrumental offers a taste with the maddening sounds of nature from a field recording caught behind a gentle and yet slightly sinister guitar build. That sets the tone for “One with the Boars” a near nine and a half minute magnum opus with Death Metal influenced cavernous vocals, the harsh tones of the bands mastermind as gravelly as they come as his tale is told. Sonically the band have created a entrancing soundscape with a couple of mid track moments that are reminiscent of the kind of work that Ennio Morricone created for film scores; the almost funky bass sounds that follow plunging us further into unexplored territory. A final passage rises from feedback as the band slip seamlessly from something that circles the drain of avant-garde Jazz infusions back into Melodic Black Metal. It’s surreal and yet captivating as it plays out, fearfully addictive and yet eerily horrific in the same breath. Picking up the pace, the title track “Woebegone, Raised by Wolves” is just a third of the length of its predecessor, the distilled essence of the bands sound in one easy to swallow capsule that contrasts the harsh vocals against a surprisingly upbeat rhythm, while the gang chant of the song title is almost a mantra. The warm fuzzy of “The Cliff where Oceans Meet” borders on Stoner Metal riff worship in places, the meandering of the leads a delicate practice that gives the material a sombre and sobering quality second only to those of Scandinavian climates in creating melancholia. Another eerie field recording accompanied by guitar work gives us the sound of a slow trudge over a pebbled beach, bringing the curtain down on this art house movie score in intriguing fashion [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Intro
2. One with the Boars
3. Woebegone, Raised by Wolves
4. The Cliff where Oceans Meet
5. Outro

“Woebegone, Raised By Wolves” by The Scars In Pneuma is out 7th July 2023 and is available over at bandcamp