Scum

Gospels of the Sick

Dogjob Records 2005

I always am forced to approach "super groups" with a bit of skepticism.  Why are they doing what they are doing?  Will it justify itself musically?  I have no answer for the first question but the second question is a "yes."  As I am sure everyone is aware by now Scum is made from members of Amen, Turbonegro and Emperor.  I will try and be as objective about the music here as possible.  For the most part the music here is a mixture of Discharge-esque crust, Darkthrone styled Black and Roll, with occasional flourishes of Turbonegro inspired punk.  The music works best when it incorporates all three of these foundations within the same song.  A good example of this is Throw Up on You which starts of ferociously and then settles into a catchy Turbonegro kind of chorus.  Some of my favorites though are the Black and Roll tracks like The Truth won't be Sold whose main riff sounds like it was inspired by Darkthrone's song Rust off of their Hate Them album.  It's very driving and dark.  The one song that truly and absolutely destroys is The Perfect Mistake on which Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone fame contributes vocals. That song could have been lifted straight off a modern Darkthrone album with its black and roll rumble.  Also I would be remiss if I didn't mention how cool I think the somber ending to Road to Sufferage is.  It has a sad, middle of the night, emotional loss, kind of feeling to it.  The vocals of Casey Chaos are snotty and not tremendously appealing at first but they do a good job for the most part.  They are really good and catchy when the sing-along choruses are employed.  I have never heard his band Amen so I cannot compare them to his normal performance.  The production is dirty yet clear.  It has a nice crisp feeling to it.  Though this is enjoyable in its own right I am not so sure what sort of longevity this band can maintain.  Will it be able to continue on or will it remains a novelty?  Your guess is as good as mine.  I do feel however that if this band were not a "super group" people would be a lot more willing to like them rather than a lot of the negativity that surrounds them right now.