4th April 2025

Review: “Scourge” by Uninhibited

The story goes that long time friends in vocalist Sebastian “Basti” Markovic and multi instrumentalist Marco Kärger once played together in a Hardcore band that toured Europe. Rekindling the flames of a passion to create music, the pair reconnected over a mutual love of classic Death Metal bands like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Entombed and in 2023 they rolled out their debut EP “Ascend The Plank“. Maintaining a DIY or DIE approach, the pair wrote, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered everything in house, enjoying the complete freedom to bring their vision of Death Metal to life without limits – no rules, no compromises being their mantra. Being prolific writers who are more than happy to step outside of genre borders and boundaries while retaining the raw power of Old School Death Metal, they followed their debut with album “Reign of the Unholy” in 2024. As they say, too much is never enough, a sophomore EP in “Scourge” now surfaces from the black depths…

…unlike their previous burnt offerings this new record is comprised of longer and more atmospheric works, opening cut “Blood Sucker” reaching the eight minute milestone, their previous longest recording being “Solace” from the aforementioned “Reign of the Unholy” which clocked in at four minutes and forty give seconds. Its a change of direction that suits them well with almost two minutes of powerful instrumental build up in Old School Death Thrash style before the Markovic’s fearsome vocals rear their ugly head. You can see how he could front a Hardcore band with his harsh, barked style a good fit for a lot of Metal sub-genres as he roars “I will kill you!” over breakneck speed riffing. By the mid section the rhythmic nature of this beast of a track is well suited for festival sized circle pits, the intensity of the track pulling it all together. A slow down for an atmospheric fade to black with a few blast beats for good measure is a nice almost mournful touch with just a hint of a Black Metal influence creeping in. It’s curious that the duo chose this one to open the record because it would actually suit as a closer very well, especially given the all out bludgeoning that is “In Darkness Deep“, a Groove Death cut with the kind of drumming that would make masters like Kevin Talley wince. A melodic bridge to the final third is an interesting touch for such an otherwise bloodthirsty affair before “Excavation” shifts back towards Death Thrash with a classic pick slide and staccato riff breaks of gargantuan proportions.

The sinister urge of this one works well, the duo mixing up their approach while achieving the same results in all out annihilation. There are even a couple of moments that remind of “The Impossibility of Reason” era Chimaira as the guitars chug and Markovic roars. A disorientating conclusion, which sounds like you were in a subway station when a flash bang went off, acts as a moment of respite before the blood and thunder of “Primal Whisper” screams down the ear canals. Razor sharp old school Death Thrash riffs fly in all directions as the drum machine pounds the discerning listener into submission with bursts of speed getting the adrenaline flowing. Floating into Melodic Death Metal territory in the final third with some soaring guitar work makes for another stylish change up before a fittingly pummelling conclusion, the track stopping on a dime rather than fading to black. That sets the tone for a melodic and almost mournful introduction to “Coffin on the Sea” before the guitars, drums and microphone become a threat once more, picking up the pace and diving head long into the treacherous waters. The abundance of groove is inviting, bringing to mind the phycological nature of bands like Strangle Wire in the process, the throat shredding vocals destroying the cerebral cortex in the process. A solid record that creates a foundation of gold and bones, it will be interesting to hear what Uninhibited can do from here [7.5/10]

Track Listing