What were you thinking about a few hours ago? Maybe, like me, you found yourself pondering how things might have unfolded differently if you hadn’t eaten that extra meal, or if you had managed to squeeze in an extra hour of sleep. Were you, perhaps, reflecting on your life choices? Because, with the imminent release of Trails of Anguish‘s new album, Scathed Gaping Misery, it seems to vividly capture the essence of things that could have been, but never quite materialized.
This isn’t exactly an album, but rather a fusion of the two EPs the band released. What could be more Black Metal than listening to the latest material from an already defunct project that should have been swallowed by angst and nothingness decades ago? Even though it’s easy to discern the division between the two EPs (around track six), they are still similar enough to blend well together. I’d say Relentless Abhorrence of Misery’s Grievance is more depressing, while Scarred Memento is angrier, but the difference is minimal. Personally, I lean towards Scarred Memento the most; the songwriting is just more creative, even if unfocused sometimes.
Hence, you can imagine that Scathed sounds almost as if a depressing Black Metal band actually had a busy drummer who could do more than just beat up the drum kit to fill in the gaps. There were moments where I thought, “Hold it right there, this almost became a Grindcore album for a few seconds.” Don’t worry, though, there’s still plenty of misery in Scathed for you to feel sorry about yourself or the tragedies of the human condition (what? I need to keep the language edgy for the kids!). Add the desperate shrieking that constantly batters you, and you have the perfect soundtrack for the funeral of your last puppy.
So, what are my issues with Scathed? Well, this is almost a meta-review, in a way, since it’s a new combination of material that came out twenty years ago. You can imagine it sounds old fashion. I know I said I liked the second part the most, but “Rebirth” kind of made me mad. It’s an almost ten-minute track composed mostly of silence and two detached sections, both great on their own, but together, it’s trying too hard to be postmodern for my taste (and I liked Gravity Rainbow). Then there’s the production: it’s not old Emperor production, but An Autumn for Crippled Children or Ophiuchi are good comparisons; it has that wet cardboard sound that requires a special mood to enjoy. By that, I mean the kind of mood you’re in when you find out your dog has cancer.
So, next time you’re eating instant noodles in front of your laptop, watching that show you always watch to cope with painful reality, maybe consider that Trails of Anguish – Scathed Gaping Misery could help with that too. At this point, you have little to lose anyway.
Label: Hessian Firm
Release date: 17 May, 2024
Website: https://www.facebook.com/TrailsOfAnguish.Official
Country: Canada
Score: 3.0/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 