German death metal band Scalpture has been around since 2009, starting off with a sound inspired primarily by the likes of Aphyx, Hail of Bullets, and Bolt Thrower with some other influences seeping in over time. In 2020 they released their second full length Eisenzeit which pivoted their lyrical content to World War I, and this has been continued two years later on Feldwärts. While the group was already starting to incorporate some haunting melodies and desolate atmosphere into their lumbering death metal attack, they’ve expanded upon this side of their sound on Feldwärts and this results in a number of standout tracks.
There are a lot of bands out there going for war themed death metal and channeling that same lumbering intensity and mixture of fast and methodically paced passages that feel like tanks rolling across the battlefield, but so many get the tone and atmosphere down without offering riffs that separate them from the pack. This is where Scalpture is able to make an impression, as the way that they move between crushing riffs and somber melodies makes specific songs stick out upon repeat listens while providing a consistently engaging listen from beginning to end. It is true that they are pulling from a familiar blend of influences, and besides the bands mentioned in the intro I’m sure many of you will hear elements that remind you of plenty of other artists, but when the guitar work is this strong and the material is compact enough to where it doesn’t get repetitive that makes all the difference. Tracks like “Ils n'ont pas passé”, “Challenging an Empire”, and “Grabengott” get under your skin with their transitions over to haunting melodies that mix nicely with the raging death metal. “Grabengott” channels a bit more death/doom than some of the other songs on the album, letting that slower and methodical tempo keep things heavy and entrancing. Admittedly the second half of Feldwärts doesn’t reach peaks quite as high as the first and closing track “The Road Back” stretches out its slower atmospheric sections out a bit too much, but these are minor criticisms when looking at how strong the material is overall.
Vocalist Thorsten Pieper utilizes a lower pitched growl that stands slightly above the instrumentals in the mix, and he’s able to hit some of those raspier notes that are sure to remind listeners of Martin van Drunen. It’s one of those styles that suits this type of death metal perfectly, and the intensity of the performance adds to the amount of power Feldwärts is able to generate. There’s variety to the vocals as well, with “Ils n'ont pas passé” in particular pausing around the three-quarter mark to let some singing/chanting that adds to the triumphant sound of that song and makes it a definite highlight. “Challenging the Empire” shakes things up too with much higher pitched screams, and while the promotional material that came with the album doesn’t tell me if this is another member of the band or a guest vocalist the way that the highs and lows trade off on this track also stand out.
Scalpture is a perfect example that can take the ideas laid down by classic bands and tweak them enough to stand out from the crowd. If you’re a fan of death metal that’s able to bludgeon with both fast and mid-paced tempos as well as let some somber and haunting melodies seep into that bottom heavy foundation, this is an album that you will get plenty of mileage out of. FDA-RECORDS doesn’t tend to get quite as much exposure in North America, but they continue to put out quality death metal year after year and this is a clear highlight from their early 2022 roster.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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