SCARDUST - ‘Strangers’
Album review by; Jazmin
Nothing can quite prepare you for the emotional and physical journey of Scardust’s latest album Strangers; no words, no warnings, no witticisms. The Israeli outfit mash together a Frankenstein’s monster of genres, the concoction of progressive metal, thrash metal, and symphonic metal, mixed with hints of jazz and a mass dosage of operatic and classically trained vocals make for a rock opera fit for the musical theatre stage. And it’s certainly an adventure and a half.
​
As a concept album, lead track ‘Overture for the Estranged’ starts with a gospel with a helping hand from the Hellscore Choir and Westbrook Hay Prep School Chamber Choir, the ominous chorus setting the stage for impending doom and tragedy. The love-child of front woman Noa Grumen and composer Orr Didi, Grumen’s vocals soar with ridiculous velocity, her high notes reaching a sub-human peak. Twin violin’s are used in the same way any other band would use twin guitars, the speed metal drumming underneath creating an avalanche of what is expected to be musical overkill as there’s so much to listen out for, the mind and ears struggling to keep up. A piano and string section interlude transports you to the Georgian era, and by the end of the track you’ve looked past what looks on the surface to be overindulgence, and instead can see through a crystal ball to the professionalism and dedication within each instruments part, like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on steroids.
​
‘Break the Ice’ confirms Grumen’s vocal capabilities fit for musical theatre in her perfect enunciations and articulation, the mind trailing off on a tangent to wonder and come to the conclusion that she could nail Frozen’s ‘Let It Go.’ An air of upbeat positivity from her elegant Amy Lee-like gothic vocals counteracts with the choirs’ sinister tones and ill-intentions, reflected in the princess fairytale related lyrics; “Break down the city walls/ rescue me from the tallest tower,” as a harpsichord makes its first (of many) appearance.
​
Exhibiting cascading crescendos and arpeggiated instruments, ‘Tantibus II’ discusses the urge to shut yourself off from the rest of the world and retreat into a fantasy realm of our own design. “I tamed the demon in my nightmare just to realize, I woke up to a dim grey world// I close my eyes so I can only hear the silence in my mind.” Leaping from one extreme to the other, the vocalisation of the line “I am the beast/ I am the nightmare/ demon in disguise,” is ravaged with death metal growls that personify and anthropomorphise the embodiment of the character in question.
​
The album’s virtuosity in every corner of the ring means that the guitar no longer takes centre stage as the most worshipped and impressive sound, but drums with differing time signatures and bass lines that display superiority are instead the blazing stars set against the night sky backdrop. The prospect of ceasing listening is an impossibility as ‘Concrete Cages’ keeps you on the edge of your seat, the emergence of bagpipes taking on a mythologically Celtic edge.
​
‘Over’ begins in the same vein as any other death metal tune; loaded drums and demolished guitars, yet a visceral death growl sets it apart from the rest; Noa’s display of dominance being that of a male peacock displaying it’s feathers or a gorilla beating it’s chest. This is her one-woman show. The following track ‘Under’ is more jazz driven, piano chords and brushed, fluffy cymbals staying consistent underneath the blanket of metal.
​
The dominant lyrical themes are that of civilisation’s destruction of the Earth, as ‘Huts’ explains, “Run away with me to way back when, we could push each other on a swing and sing in unison// Now we shove each other just to get in line, trying to impress and to wine and dine.” The finale of ‘Mist’ however brings the story to its happier, brighter ending.
​
There’s no mistaking the impressiveness of Scardust and the dedication put into the arrangements of Strangers. If Disney were to create a narrative that involved a heavy metal princess, this would be the soundtrack.
​
​
