SCUM „Gospels for the Sick”

Music: Death Punk
Country: Norway/USA
Website: http://www.scumband.com
Duration: 41:42


Cool Songs: Protest Life, Backstabbers Go to Heaven, The Perfect Mistake, Gospels for the Sick.

Having checked out the bands website and the killer video for the equally killer opening salvo ‘Protest Life’, I was convinced that SCUM’s debut full length ‘Gospels for the Sick’ was going to be huge. And as much as I loathe the mere presence of Casey Chaos in this band, it was the rest of the line up that had me thinking that this album had massive potential. When you’ve got the likes of ex-Emperor/current Zyklon guitarist Tomas Thormodsćter Haugen (aka Samoth) in the mix along with Bard Eithun (aka Faust) on drums plus MindGrinder’s Cosmocrator and Happy Tom from Turbo Negro, I was thinking that this could be anything!

Playing what can only be described as some sort of Black Metal meets Punk/Rock n Roll hybrid (kind of like a Discharge meets Motorhead meets Dead Kennedy’s vibe) ‘Protest Life’ kicks things off in mighty fine style. Riff of the year stuff for mine. Even Casey (who is the only real fruitcake of the line up) puts in a stellar snotty ragged Jello-like performance – fucking killer track that just has you hanging for the rest.

But as much as the band tears it up for the next 38 minutes or so, there is simply nothing else that comes close to matching the fire and song writing prowess of ‘Protest Life’. So as quick as this band bolts out of the gates, their momentum is quickly reigned in and decidedly bogged down in parts. The main problem here is the length of their compositions and Casey’s omnipresence. For a self styled go for the throat, ‘take no prisoners’ Death Punk band, most of ‘Gospels..’ hangs around far too long. ‘Protest Life’ at 5 minutes plus pushes the issue a little, but being the lead track and the best song in their repertoire it’s easy to let that one slip. As for the rest, there seems to be a little confusion as to when the band should end each track. The further the album travels, the more Casey’s presence and ‘over-vocalising’ tends to grates. Too many times he chooses to ramble on in the background, unnecessarily extending most tracks beyond the 3-4 minute mark. For a super charged raw as fuck punk band, I expected the band to hit hard and fuck off. No fluff, no overstaying the welcome. Unfortunately, Casey Chaos can’t shut up quick enough for that to happen.

The other problem I have is Samoth’s move towards this style of music. Fucking hell, eight years ago, he would have spat on any punk bands that came within sight such was the grim black metal attitude of the Emperor clan back then. Now he’s playing punk rock riffs laced with a raw edgy under-produced guitar sound. I’m having a hard time being totally convinced about this. Still, it’s hard to deny the musicianship on this, particularly Faust’s clockwork rhythmic back beat. Yeah we know the guy can play. ‘Gospel’s only reiterates the fact.

For a band of such talent, ‘Gospels..’ is a tad disappointing all round. Certainly the expectations were much higher. Unfortunately the heights reached via the opening track haven’t been matched here. I’m not sure of Casey’s total role in the process but the songwriting just isn’t strong enough to carry the length of this album. It’s just really uneven (particularly mid album) and smacks of a band not quite comfortable with each others contributions. I’ll keep coming back to ‘Protest Life’ for quite some time, but other than that and ‘Backstabber’s go the heaven’, I can’t say there’s anything memorable about the rest. Pity.

note: 6.8

Tracklist

Protest Life 5:16
Gospels for the Sick 5:05
Throw Up on You 3:16
Night of A 1000 Deaths 3:45
Truth Won't Be Sold 3:38
Hate the Sane 4:27
Deathpunkscumfuck 2:08
Road to Sufferage 4:33
Backstabbers Go to Heaven 4:12
The Perfect Mistake 5:22