Scythian

Suffering to the Conquered

Self Financed 2007

The UK has been making a name for itself once again in the field of death metal with a new crop of devastatingly uncompromising bands such as Spearhead and of course, Scythian who live and breath merciless slaughter.  Scythian combine warlike death metal riffing with dark elements of thrash and black metal into an amalgam of forged steel.  With this Forged Steel these three musicians bludgeon and pound the listener with powerful and unholy compositions that are harbingers of a bleak future upon a scorched earth.  Astral Assassins sets the stage for the album with furious tempos and rapid fire bursts that mow down humans like fodder upon the battlefield.   Pray To War changes things up with a slow and atmospheric middle section.  But of course the Sodom inspired harshness returns with brutal effect.  The black metal influences come to the forefront during the blast beat riffing of the title track which is surprisingly catchy yet remains vehemently deadly.  Also Spires to Ashes reminds me a lot of Immortal in style though of course it is buried beneath a mound of corpses.  The demo is brought to a state of closure with a cover of Bathory's Holocaust which is rendered heavier and more ferocious behind S. Vrath's harsh vocals and A Satyrus's frothing guitar rhythms.  Scythian evoke a relentless and warlike vision with each track on their demo.  Similar in some respects to Angelcorpse but with a broader style that includes thrash and black metal aspects.  I am surprised at how mature the songs on the Suffering to the Conquered are.  Each song has its own identity and Scythian has a defined style that is not necessarily a clone of anyone else.  From experience I know that these songs translate well to a live environment.  Galactic Records made the right decision in snapping these guys up so quickly.  I am eager to hear what they are able to accomplish on their debut.  I am sure it will be a ferocious beast unleashed from the bowels of Hell.