PATCHWORK’s sound blends thrash, power, and speed metal, characterized by melodic writing, clean vocals, and well-placed screams. Scars, their sophomore album, acts as a conceptual sequel to “Exit Wounds.” The music is faster, heavier, and more direct. Where exit wounds mark a violent moment, scars remain as permanent reminders. Scars can carry pain, but they can also show survival. The album has thirteen songs, and following the brief introduction of “You Have Failed,” the title track is the first proper song. For me, it sound like proto-typical Speed Metal, and the vocals are just a bit pitchy. “Relix” begins with clean, scary tones, and this is more like it. However, they dissipate quickly, in favor of a mid-tempo sound that has a study, aggressive riff. Much of the music so far however is fairly simple in scope, and this is another song with pitchy vocals. The lead guitar work is excellent however.

“Ruined” has a lower and more aggressive riff, but being that much of the music is riff driven, and some of the riffs are re-hashed from the glory days of Speed Metal, it doesn’t offer much in the way of originality. “Divide” is a short offering that burns the ground as it moves, leaving a trail of smoke behind. Again, the lead guitar work is excellent, but the stale riffs don’t match that pace. “The Vulture” is an aggressive offering where speed kills. The vocals keep much of the sound moving forward, but again, the riffs hold it back. There is a nice slowed down section in the middle however. “The Empty” is another fast, riff-driven song, but many of the songs are starting to blend together and there is a familiarity here that I just can’t shake.

“Bitter Truth” is very aggressive, and the song provides a reprieve from some of the earlier tracks that blend together. Here, you get a sense of the band’s musicianship and their tight compositional style. “At the End” is the final cut, and it’s more of the same. The riffs just aren’t distancing themselves.  Thirteen songs were just too many considering the sound on the album. The music is indeed fast, heavy, and direct, but it just reminds me of the heyday of Speed Metal, which was 40 years ago. The lead guitar is what is best about the album, but the rest just doesn’t measure up. They are all solid musicians however, and I’m sure that many Metalheads will like their sound. It just wasn’t for me.