Lividus’ material first caught my attention due to the involvement of vocalist Uta Plotkin, whose work in Witch Mountain in the early 2010’s was some of my favorite in the doom space at the time thanks to her powerful voice that had a bluesier swagger to it but occasionally shifted to harsher tones. Rather than falling into doom territory, Lividus is a very different group that explores thrash, death metal, and black metal and showcases Plotkin’s harsher vocals alongside other veterans of the Pacific Northwest metal scene. This year’s Scarabaeus album expands upon the two prior EPs by channeling more of every metal style, offering a whirlwind of riffs that still gives the listener enough time to latch onto the details. Like some of the more potent artists from decades past, Lividus covers a lot of ground in a short period of time but does so in a way that feels unique.
The title track kicks things off with a very brief intro that has sparser instrumentation and Plotkin’s haunting vocals, but as soon as “Jettatori” kicks in it’s off to the races. That song comes in with dense, fast riffing that has more of a thrashy death metal cadence to it, but the way the instrumentals ebb and flow also gives off some of the proggy weirdness of bands like Voivod or sudden shifts of Deceased. The whirlwind approach defines much of the songwriting, and even within a four-minute track like “Jettatori” the band covers such a wide range of ground that it can be hard to keep up with. Sometimes you’re more in death metal territory, while but then the tonality might shift to more blackened elements, and everything is handled seamlessly. Admittedly it was a lot to take in on that initial listen and things seemed to fly by in a blur, but once I had prepared myself for twists and turns the details really started to stick on subsequent times through. What you’ll find once everything clicks is Lividus has a mastery of weaving together the back-and-forth extremity of some of the more progressive minded extreme metal of the past with the softer flourishes of earlier melodic black and death metal, and it’s this combination that results in some of the strongest moments. Tracks like “Sulphur” and “The Aftermath of the Flood” on the second half of the album are downright intense all the way through, but there are flourishes of haunting melody from both the guitars and viola that create unique arrangements. I also appreciate the brief respite around the halfway point courtesy of “hey blew the flies from their lips before they spoke”, which lets the darker atmospherics take the spotlight. There are a few of the faster moments that do still run together slightly due to the similarity of the writing, but the high points have stuck with me after those first couple listens and have drawn me back to discover more and more nuances hiding beneath the speedier assaults.
There are plenty of aspects of the instrumentals that will keep listeners engaged, but Uta Plotkin’s performance is what really helps set Lividus apart. Where Witch Mountain had her more focused on different singing ranges, Lividus emphasizes the harsher screams and growls with more operatic singing in between. “Jettatori” makes an immediate impression with the seamless shifts between the two, and the contrast between the operatic and ethereal nature of the singing and extremity of the screams makes for a wild ride. Compared to her previous work, even the cleaner ranges have a more frantic and intense cadence to them and this makes songs like “Viaticum” stand out over repeat listens due to the way the two approaches intertwine. In some ways it reminds me of Ihsahn’s solo work, as while the pitches aren’t the same the way that the harsh and cleans complement each other creates a similar sense of tension. There’s a lot of black and death metal influence to the screams, while the singing feels a bit more heavy or progressive metal oriented, and the fact that they are fused together in this way without feeling messy demonstrates how much skill Plotkin has.
It did take a few listens for Lividus’ full-length debut to completely click with me, but once it did it hasn’t left my rotation. There are a lot of little details to uncover in the relatively short span of time Scarabaeus plays for, and the whirlwind of riffs and vocals remind me of everything from Voivod’s unexpected transitions to Deceased’s more complex and frantic arrangements. At the same time, the way that these elements combine with the harsh and operatic vocals results in something that has a sound of its own. I’m excited to hear what else the band has in store, as there’s plenty of room for expanding off this very strong foundation. Scarabaeus is available from Nameless Grave Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg