Soulscar - Endgame
There were a lot of things I liked on the last Soulscar record. The delicious dual lead guitars, the occasional thrash riffing and general old school metal feel to the songs but then there were some things I didn’t like. The frequent clean vocals, the general metal power ballad tilt to a lot of the songs and the somewhat anemic production. It always had me thinking that if they dropped some of these negative elements and tapped their inner thrash/speed metal demon they would have one hell of a record. I guess they must have thought the same thing because that one hell of a record is right here.
In a nutshell, Endgame solves all the deficiencies of their earlier work. The production is drastically superior, the songs are fast and furious with the flag planted firmly in the thrash camp and the clean vocals have been replaced by sultry, pixie like female vocals that, despite knowing they serve essentially the same purpose, I can’t help but like. All of these things are huge pluses for these guys but where they really outdid themselves is in the guitar department. The first album had some great solos but nothing like this. On Endgame, Soulscar lays down a wall to wall carpet of stunning Maiden influenced solos and dual solos that, like a Peter North film, spray huge loads of guitar love over each and every victim…er, I mean song. A more properly trained guitarist might point out that it’s probably just a bunch of scales played with blazing speed and pinpoint precision to mask their relatively simple origins but I can’t remember when I heard a more quality assembly of wank-free solos housed on one album. But that’s not the sole reason this band rips. Probably even more impressive is how far they’ve come in their rhythm guitar songwriting. There’s a dizzying display of thrash riffage that gives a heavy nod to the thrash masters of old but still manages to sound fresh and new in the nimble hands of these increasing accomplished songwriters.
In another case of playing to their strengths, they use their somewhat thin, vanilla vocals sparingly, even dropping off completely for no less than three instrumentals. Now as anyone knows, playing without the benefit of a lead singer is the true test of a band’s inherent musical ability and here Soulscar shines just as bright. Typically starting with an early Metallica like clean electric intro that ends just before it wears out its welcome; it’s just a prelude before the real fun begins. Using an aggressive traditional speed metal sound to root an impressive blend of sturdy thrash rhythms and a stellar array of varied solos, these songs are not as technical as fellow Canadians Mastery but are extremely FUN, delivering a comfortably nostalgic classic metal sound but with a harder, faster modern extreme metal edge.
I think this record will appeal a lot to fans of traditional/power metal guitar work that can’t stomach the vocal operatics, love ballads or general glam cheesiness that plagues the genre. At the same time, this will equally appeal to people looking for an updated, breakdown free version of thrash with more emphasis on speed than groove. Either way, Soulscar has definitely stepped up their game and delivered on that one hell of a record. Hopefully they get the accolades and success they deserve even though this falls outside the current popular metal trends/genres. Well, maybe the female vocals are trendy…but they’re good anyway.
In a nutshell, Endgame solves all the deficiencies of their earlier work. The production is drastically superior, the songs are fast and furious with the flag planted firmly in the thrash camp and the clean vocals have been replaced by sultry, pixie like female vocals that, despite knowing they serve essentially the same purpose, I can’t help but like. All of these things are huge pluses for these guys but where they really outdid themselves is in the guitar department. The first album had some great solos but nothing like this. On Endgame, Soulscar lays down a wall to wall carpet of stunning Maiden influenced solos and dual solos that, like a Peter North film, spray huge loads of guitar love over each and every victim…er, I mean song. A more properly trained guitarist might point out that it’s probably just a bunch of scales played with blazing speed and pinpoint precision to mask their relatively simple origins but I can’t remember when I heard a more quality assembly of wank-free solos housed on one album. But that’s not the sole reason this band rips. Probably even more impressive is how far they’ve come in their rhythm guitar songwriting. There’s a dizzying display of thrash riffage that gives a heavy nod to the thrash masters of old but still manages to sound fresh and new in the nimble hands of these increasing accomplished songwriters.
In another case of playing to their strengths, they use their somewhat thin, vanilla vocals sparingly, even dropping off completely for no less than three instrumentals. Now as anyone knows, playing without the benefit of a lead singer is the true test of a band’s inherent musical ability and here Soulscar shines just as bright. Typically starting with an early Metallica like clean electric intro that ends just before it wears out its welcome; it’s just a prelude before the real fun begins. Using an aggressive traditional speed metal sound to root an impressive blend of sturdy thrash rhythms and a stellar array of varied solos, these songs are not as technical as fellow Canadians Mastery but are extremely FUN, delivering a comfortably nostalgic classic metal sound but with a harder, faster modern extreme metal edge.
I think this record will appeal a lot to fans of traditional/power metal guitar work that can’t stomach the vocal operatics, love ballads or general glam cheesiness that plagues the genre. At the same time, this will equally appeal to people looking for an updated, breakdown free version of thrash with more emphasis on speed than groove. Either way, Soulscar has definitely stepped up their game and delivered on that one hell of a record. Hopefully they get the accolades and success they deserve even though this falls outside the current popular metal trends/genres. Well, maybe the female vocals are trendy…but they’re good anyway.
