Scour is a black metal supergroup of sorts, which becomes more notable when recognizing that none of the members are from black metal bands. John Jarvis is known for his work with grindcore on Pig Destroyer, Derek Engemann works deathgrind magic on Cattle Decapitation, Chase Fraser plays progressive death metal with Continuum, and Jesse Schobel drums with Strong Intention, which is known for its mixture of thrash, grind, and hardcore. And of course, the most high profile member is vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, who generally sticks to all things southern fried with groups like Pantera, Down, and Superjoint Ritual. I'm going to stay clear of the recent racial controversy around him and focus on the music.
Much of the music was recorded on the fly during the Cannibal Corpse/Cattle Decapitation tour. Engemann and Jarvis would pull out their portable studio anywhere they could find a space and just rip through songs. This strategy pays off on Scour, playing to the members' strengths in their various raw and ugly corners of extreme metal. You can hear the grind influence absorbed deeply into black metal aesthetic. It's DIY done right. the simplicity of the compositions could have fallen flat, but there is a certain charm added by the rugged recording process.
Musically, the band sticks to the basics of the black metal genre, albeit amplifying the speed and aggressiveness. Tremolos and blastbeats absolutely pulverize. Track lengths are another factor influenced by the group's related projects, and these brief runtimes only further the relentless nature of the music. It's the perfect storm of elments that might otherwise come off as generic. And I wasn't sure that Phil had this kind of performance in him. He's a solid enough frontman, but Scour finds him in a level of extremity that is beyond most of his other projects. While his vocals aren't exactly by the book, his always brutish style combined with the increased focus on destroying his vocals cords (and probably years of smoking and drinking) certainly play a part in making this an incredibly heavy record. I especially love his demented mantra towards the end of "Clot."
At just under 15 minutes, I'd say this is just the right length for such a project. I continue to point out that there is little groundbreaking about Scour, but that doesn't stop it from being an interesting release for 2016. Between the profiles of the people involved and the simple, raw brutality of the recording; it's certainly worth checking out. Will it stand the test of time? I'm not sure, but it will remain a small but unique blackened grind chapter in the lives of everyone involved. Scour releases this Friday through Anselmo's own Housecore Records. Listen to the final track, "Tear Gas" below. Full stream available HERE.
