Album Review: Scarecrow - Scarecrow II (2021)
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| Picture Credit: Igor Odincov |
Scarecrow - Scarecrow II
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Label: selfrelease
Format: CD / Digital
Length: 43:34
Genre: Symphonic Doom
Origin: Perm, Russia
Two years ago, Russian quartet Scarecrow released their selftitled debut album. The album was highly praised amongst zines, blogs, and fans of the Doom and Prog Metal scene. To be honest, the first album did not catch me at all, and until today I cannot really say why. Nevertheless, now it is 2021 and Scarecrow from Perm are back with their second longplayer which is simply called "Scarecrow II". There has been a small change in the line-up, so guitar player Max has taken the position from Den. The remaining line-up is unchanged: Artemis is still responsible for vocals, harmonica, and flute, Vadim plays drums and percussions, and Elijah is on the bass.
Thus, here we are with eight new Scarecrow tracks which define the second part of the Central Russian band's musical journey. And right after the symphonic introduction 'The Endless Ocean Overture' it became obvious that Scarecrow have gone through some serious development as a band. Symphonic Metal and Heavy Metal have a huge impact on the band's Doom sound. On the second album, this mélange appears a lot more harmonious an coherent. You may frequently be reminded of early-day Sabbath clashing with 1980s Maiden driven by an Arthur Brown-style organ. But different to the debut, on "Scarecrow II" this sound has been severely refined, and most importantly, Scarecrow's sound is more autochthonous than before. Thus, "Scarecrow II" is the album on which (to my ears) Scarecrow have found their own sound within the spheres of Symphonic Heavy Doom Metal and beyond. And in the second half of the release, the real gold nuggets are to be found. Just take the Doom Blues anthem 'The Mushroom Wizard' or the Prog hymn 'The Golden Times' for example.
Music from every post will stay in the MangoRotation playlist for 14 days.
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