Scorched Earth - Gods, Kings, and Conquerors

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Scorched Earth - Gods, Kings, and Conquerors

Written by Chris Slack

Friday, 30 January 2009 22:39

Seattle’s Scorched Earth came to exist in 1995 when founder Terry McCorriston attempted to get like minded individuals together “to fully express S.E.'s Metal of Extermination”. After a number of lineup changes they released the "Thy Kingdom Crushed" demo CD in 2000. After three years the latest CD, “Gods, Kings, and Conquerors”, was recorded by the current lineup of Terry McCorriston (guitar/vocals), Sanford Johnson (bass), and Josh Hanenburg (drums).

The first thing I noticed when listening to “Gods, Kings, and Conquerors” is that it actually sounds like the three piece back that is Scorched Earth, which is cool as most three pieces seem to layer multiple guitars to (maybe) hide the fact that there are only three members. The major upside to this is that when one sees the band live they will get basically what they hear on the album. I would describe the music of Scorched Earth as classic thrash ala Sodom/Kreator/Celtic Frost mixed with the speed (at times) of modern death metal and the rawness and blasphemic tone of war metal bands like Blasphemy and Revenge. Songs are mid to fast-paced with some near-blast speed parts added for good measure. Don’t expect technical riffs and complex beats, this is violent and raw metal that’s played for feeling rather than showing off the bands abilities. Standout tracks include “YHWH”, a fairly brutal track with a KILLER Celtic Frost like string bending riff that’s used in parts and “Napoleon, Conqueror of the Pyramids”, a track that compels the listener to headbang. My only complaint is that to me the drums are mixed a little high and the vocals a little low for my liking. That could have been the intention of the band though, who’s to say.

All in all this is a pretty impressive release from a band that constantly improves each time I see them play. Old school thrashers and war/black metal fans should enjoy this quite a bit. If the death metal fans can get past the rawness of the production I think it would be appreciated by them as well.

Track list:
01. Thy Kingdom Crushed
02. Helter Skelter Land
03. YHWH
04. Procession of the Devil's Horsemen
05. Neo-Zombies
06. Iron Tyrant
07. Napoleon, Conqueror of the Pyramids

For more info on Scorched Earth and mp3s check out their site at http://www.scorchedearthxxx.com/
(Independent)

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