Album Reviews : Fearscape – Scent of Divine Blood

Progressive Black Metal is the order of the day, and on this day it’s Fearscape who offer forth their 2nd full length album titled ‘Scent of Divine Blood’. Released in 2007, the 6 track record offers a fairly clean cut sound tending towards a progressive metal, yet there is also a clear black metal origin for the music. The nearest reference point for this sound would definitely be recent works by Norway’s Enslaved.

There is a certain atmosphere created on the album by the vocals. Raspy screams give it a black metal rawness, with interesting and addictive clean vocals giving songs a haunting doomy feel. This atmospheric feeling on the album creates almost a ‘folk/black metal’ feeling throughout portions of the album – most notably found in the track ‘Falls of Crimson Free’ which would not be out of place on albums by bands such as Forefather or Ancient Rites. It also happens to be my favourite track on the album, alongside the faster paced ‘Abaddon Destroyer’.

There are hints of other influences throughout the album. After reading the band’s bio I wasn’t surprised at all to see Portishead listed as an influence to the band. The bass pattern at the beginning of ‘Inheritance of Dust’ creates a clear mood similar to the experimental band, and adds to the prog aspirations of the record.

One part on the record where I can see a split of opinion from listeners to the album. The mournfully appropriate acoustic outro track, which sets quite a reflective mood on the listener, gets abruptly cut short only to be continued on the album with around 10 minutes of silence. On reaching said point in the track, I found it worked very well. The total silence forces consideration and reflection on the music just played – a method which works well in my opinion to make you really remember the music and what it means to you…. Alternatively, you might just think the track has skipped…

Since receiving this copy, I have listened to it in its entirety at least 10 times, and I still want more. All of the songs are smartly put together, and the mix is just right (including an audible bass guitar!). I think Fearscape deserve the regularly used cliché for an Australian metal band that ‘if they were from Europe they would be huge’, for they are certainly a new favourite of mine! 8.5/10

For fans of: Enslaved, Opeth, Forefather

Band: Fearscape
Album: Scent of Divine Blood
Year: 2007
Genre: Progressive Black Metal
Label: Self-Released
Origin: Wollongong, Australia
http://www.fearscape.com
http://www.myspace.com/fearscape

Track listing:
1. Scent of Divine Blood
2. Abaddon Destroyer
3. Inheritance of Dust
4. Falls of Crimson Free (Reviewers Choice)
5. Terrible Majesty
6. Ex Animus Ad Astrum