SCARS DIVIDE

Welp, here we are with another metalcore band. In this case, SCARS DIVIDE is a Swiss metalcore band, which puts them a bit behind the eight ball, since metalcore is gradually on its way out, at least in the West. Remarkable, however, that SCARS DIVIDE has only been together for a year, since their self-titled debut EP sounds far more pro than a newbie act should.

The near six minutes of Three Meters Sixty" exhibits all of the band's capabilities with its sprawling measures and chunky 'core rhythms, even if the length of the track and its randomness becomes its undoing. Following these guys through their successive bars on the opening number "All That We Need" is no problem since there's plenty of articulation and headstrong melody to grab onto. In the case of "Three Meters Sixty", SCARS DIVIDE detach from their primary groove in the interest of trying out every nuance of metalcore and math metal they can and the whole exercise becomes a nattering nuisance instead of a breathless soar like "All That We Need".

The guitars of "All That We Need" and "The Venom of Leviathan" on their primary harmonies are simply grand and worth slipping into, even if the expectant breakdowns manifest more than once and disrupt the ebbing strums SCARS DIVIDE craft with near-blind instinct.

The aquatic instrumental interlude "Whispering Shores" is a nice touch before SCARS DIVIDE rip into "Their Own Demise", which, furious as it may be, becomes a predictable back-and-forth dash between speed and crawl modes, straight down to the increasing and decelerating double hammers. The flurrying guitars over "Their Own Demise"'s choruses helps the song's cause, but formulaic punching chords and beat divots hold it back from its potential.

Revisiting the same soothing and watery textures of "Whispering Shores" for the opening to the 6:27 "Salt, Ice and Fire", SCARS DIVIDE invest in momentum this time, and the results are much more satisfying. The omnipresent bellowing is dragged out along with the elevating stanzas and SCARS DIVIDE's melodies on this track are the best in their repertoire. You automatically sense these guys are going to go bonkers at some point, but the band keeps the chains held and they opt to decorate and build tension into their mid-paced plod. The anticipated speed rush never comes and SCARS DIVIDE is to be commended for finishing their EP with a tease instead of a sure shot.

If SCARS DIVIDE proves anything out the gate, it's their impressive homogeneity in such a short time. Outside of their attractive guitar work, however, there's not much these guys cover that hasn't already been covered. They've just put it all together in such fast time, and those who still practice metalcore ought to be rightly concerned they have a new band like SCARS DIVIDE breathing down their necks in a hurry.