Artist: Sceptre
Album: Age of Calamity
Label: Demonstealer Records
Release Date: 15th February, 2013
In the past couple of years we have seen bands come out of dormancy and hit the stage to relive the golden days. Latest addition to the list – Sceptre, the legendary Mumbai based Thrash band, who are known for their aggressive and angry approach in their music. Going underground soon after releasing their first album in 2008, Sceptre are back with a new line-up and will be releasing their second full-length album on 15th of February, 2013.
Sceptre are –
Gilroy Fernandes – Guitars; Aniket Waghmode – Drums; Janus Sayal – Bass; Samron Jude – Vocals
The 10 track album is has a nice blend of Thrash along with elements of modern day Groove. The combo is getting a little clichéd, as everyone out there is implementing it in their music. But still there is a difference between veterans and amateurs; Sceptre makes it blend in very well.
The album kicks off with Solitude, an instrumental having a run time of 1:28. With a haunting music playing in the back ground while audio clips from news reports keep on rolling and gothic style female vocals later on, Sceptre diverts your mind to thinking the album will probably sound like that. Trust me, it is way better.
Tracks like Age of Calamity and Prophesy Deceit displays the blend of Thrash and Groove in its best form. The sound from two definitive eras of Metal music has been amalgamated into one hell of a headbanging experience. Wrath of God – The first single and video they released is one beast of a track. The intro reminded me of “Kothae Dorocho” by Workshop though. With overlaid vocals and fierce riffs, this is where you see the old Sceptre coming back to life again.
The thing about this album is it if they have added the groove element to their tracks, there has been ample measures taken to keep the “In-Your-Face” attitude alive; something Sceptre, rather most Thrash Metal bands are known for. Lake of the Traitor, Fatal Delay, Lest We Forget are all examples of this. With machine gun riffing, yelled out vocals and pumpy bass throughout; one gets to feel the music with ease. And some may even connect to it. For example – The lyrics of Parasites (Of The State) are more or less distinguishable despite them being screamed out. So if one listens to it closely, they would be able connect to it very easily. I felt the adrenaline rush when I was listening to it.
Well, now that the pros are more or less covered, let me come to the drawbacks of the albums. There were some mixing issues I encountered. Like the clean vocals in (Seven) 7 Seals, in my opinion needed a little more clarity. Words were simply not distinguishable. The album lacks guitar solos, that didn’t go well with me as I’m a huge fan of guitar solos. Though the last track – Lest We Forget, ends with a shredding masterpiece; the only one in the full album, I would have surely liked a few more solos, just to go along with the spirit of Thrash. At times I felt that the kick drum needed a little more volume, especially during the double bass parts. The complaint is mostly because the tone of the kick drums was pure bliss and it sucks when it gets overshadowed by the guitars and bass.
All that being said, the bottomline is Sceptre is back to kick your ass. The album surely sounds awesome and what I can make out from the tracks is that the band members thoroughly enjoyed composing and playing the songs. Undoubtedly another great release from Demonstealer Records.
Sceptre “Wrath of God” Single
