SCAR OF THE SUN is a Gothic/Melodic Groove Metal band that started in 2004 and hails from Greece. This is their third full-length entitled "Inertia" released through Napalm Records on May 14^h, 2021.

"Inertia" has a repetitive guitar pattern that changes in sound drastically and switches to a more melodic death metal approach (akin to AMON AMARTH). The slower parts are what I have always enjoyed in INSOMNIUM, subtle melodic arrangements with some clean vocals. The song is incredibly catchy and the melodies are memorable.

"I Am the Circle" sounds straight out of the more recent ARCH ENEMY material, with a heavy guitar tone and a mid-tempo aspect that categorizes many of the Swedish band's numbers. The chorus has a lot of PARADISE LOST and AMORPHIS in it, especially in the vocal delivery. This sounds like the perfect mix between melo-death and gothic metal.

What follows is a 2-part song "Quantum Leap Zero I: Torque Control" and "Quantum Leap Zero II: Transition to Turbulence" which tends on the more gothic side of things (to a certain extent SCAR SYMMETRY territory). It relies on what has made doom/gothic metal so powerful in Finland, it has slower heavy guitar parts and quite the spectrum of emotions, just like SWALLOW THE SUN. Terry Nikas really shines on these songs with a lot of poise and grace.

If you are a huge fan of SOILWORK like I am, you will enjoy the melodramatic atmosphere and the amazing riffing of "The Fallible Experiment", a song with a great modern twist (in the low-tone guitars) and an incredibly solid chorus. Now if you enjoy the band VOYAGER, you will have something to sink your teeth into with "Singularity Collapse", a darker piece filled with passion and quieter passages and a chorus that needs to be sung live to be fully appreciated. Again, the British doom influence is there and fits in perfectly within the more contemporary sound.

Lastly, we have "Anastasis" with post-rock aspects, not present in the previous songs, but transitions ferociously into a more thrash/modern metal mood. The rough vocals have a different special effect and this is as straightforward as the band gets. There is raw energy to it that shows how much sweat and soul the band puts into their music.

What a pleasant surprise this band turned out to be. They mix the gothic side of doom with very modern touches that crafts a completely different album I ever expected. The musicians are all incredibly talented and mesh well together. If you had never heard of this project, you will enjoy their special take on metal.