Andrew Danso

Tuning out after two minutes into the album is something to be said for short attention span, but you can relate the same antsy demeanour to Symbolic, as they simply whiz from riff A, to B, to C, to D, and so on. It’s really very difficult to keep up, as in short bursts, the tracks alone feel incredibly overbearing on the ear. More importantly Scarvest completely sidesteps on the point of melodic metal, in that there’s simply not a hook or familiar tone you can latch onto, since so much goes off at once. It’s a shame, because while the hooks are certainly present the German quartet never choose to stick with them, opting to rampage workmanly through a bottomless spiral of riffing, before gasping for air at the finishing line. There’s an ignorance for melody, song writing and key change which contrastingly opens up on the overly zealous detail for how many notes one can play at once on their instrument, or the cyclical difference in time signature. Who honestly longs for number crunching? Detail has always been in the heart – and Scarvest has none of it.

4/10 Powerplay issue #130