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██▌ Artist...: Scenery ░▐██▌
░▐██ Album....: The Drowning Shadow of Mankind... After 25 Years ░██▌░
▓▐██ Year.....: 2023 ▓▐██▓
▓▐██ Rel. Date: 2026-04-25 ░▐██▓
▐██ Genre....: Thrash Metal ██▌░
░ ██▌ Label....: Parßt Productions ██▌
▐██ Source...: CD ▐██
░▐██▌ Type.....: Reissue ▐██▌░
▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo ████▌░
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1. Intro 2:14
2. After Life Before Life 3:24
3. Bethrayer of Life / Destructor of People 4:07
4. Why Won't You Listen to Me? 4:57
5. The Drowning Shadow of Mankind 6:29
6. My God is Dead 5:25
7. Slave to Dreams 4:58
8. Crown of Thorns 4:44
36:18
In my opinion, 8 tracks from 1997 on the SCENERY CD are a major draw for
many underground metal fans. Those who doubt its quality can rest
assured that it is excellent.
SCENERY's music is progressive thrash metal with extraordinary ideas.
Expect complex guitar riffs, off-beat rhythms and excellent bass
performances. All of these elements are very well put together and the
result is interesting and original. Sometimes, the band's style seems
reminiscent of the legendary DEATH, but I have no objection to that.
SCENERY are three excellent musicians who know what they want. IÆd like
to highlight the strengths of each of them, but that would be
superfluous. You simply have to listen to this band because theyÆre the
first group in a long time to really blow me away. The only minor
criticism might be directed at the vocals. They are monotonous, which
some might find boring, but they serve to complement and round out the
music perfectly.
The cover that the band chose for their CD is very nicely designed. ItÆs
not overloaded, and no important information is missing û the lyrics are
included too.
What more can I say? SCENERY are a band whose members
clearly understand each other and know what they want, and above all,
they compose music that can knock people off their feet. Keep it up!
--
In the late-1990Æs metal started showing signs of waking up from its
long, counterproductive slumber and quickly began to catch up with the
rest of the music world with both old veterans and new acts rushing to
compensate for the years of relative inactivity. The influence of then
extinct bands was really big on the young upstarts who avidly borrowed
from the available heritage many not even trying to disguise it with
something of their own. The technical thrash/death blend experienced a
few more or less forgivable flops (remember InvocatorÆs ôDying to Liveö
(1995), No Return's "Seasons of Soul" (1995), and Mercyless' "C.O.L.D."
(1996)) during the decade, but it also saw the return of the giants
Sadus to lead this sub-genre through the upcoming resurrection period.
It was going to be an ungrateful task for Steve DiGiorgio and Co.
provided that behemoths like Atheist, Pestilence, and Messiah had
apparently laid down the weapons for good; while others still moving
(Loudblast, Merciless, the Poles Dragon) were becoming less and less
interested in playing technical music.
The small Czech Republic has never been the most prominent place for
metal, but the more initiated should know the intelligent progressive
power/thrashers Asmodeus whose diverse melodic opuses have been served
on a more or less regular basis since the early-90Æs. ItÆs only the most
dedicated metal scholars who would recall three other names: Assesor
whose debut "Invaze" (1990) was a rough unpolished version of Atheist's
"Piece of Time", cleverly-constructed, but quite intense, technical
thrash/death at its primal best (the band are back together and their
sophomore release "Stvanice" (2012) is another standout piece of complex
thrash/death hybridization); the more linear and orthodox Crionic and
their excellent debut ôDifferentö (1993); and Chirurgia, one of the most
original and forward-thinking acts of the decade their debut ôThe Last
Doorö (1993) one of the finest progressive thrash/death metal releases
ever; their sophomore effort ôDeep Silenceö (2002) is a varied, eclectic
affair which is still by all means worth checking out.
So we roll forward to 1997 and see the birth of the most consistent
technical/progressive metal outfit from the small country: Landscapeà
sorry, Scenery. Not much of a pedigree for the combo except for the
vocalist Petr Stejskal who arrived from the one-album-wonder Section
Brain (ôHospital of Deathö, 1993 again; what a year for metal this one
was, wasnÆt it?!). However, their thin resumes were not an obstacle for
the guys to produce one of the most impressive debuts in the field, and
to show how technical and progressive death/thrash metal could be
combined in a way no worse than Atheist and Death. Once the opener
ôAfter Life Before Lifeö starts weaving these serpentine Coroner-esque
riffs out of thin air the listener will cast his/her daily chores aside
and will concentrate on the musical sceneries to follow. This same
opener thrashes quite wildly at some point with thundering bass heard in
the background plus a beautiful quiet lead-driven exit. The overall
approach is closer to thrash throughout the album, and the band are
experts at blending hard-hitting headbanging sections with twisted
complex ones on each composition; sometimes great melodic leads (ôWhy
WonÆt You Listen to Me?ö) take the upper hand; at others more engaging
progressive numbers (the title-track) ala Death dominate the landscape;
at others technical wizardry (ôMy God is Deadö) will boggle the
listenerÆs mind stitching together impossibly elaborate riff-patterns by
putting together Coroner again, Deathrow, and Realm all into one big
melting pot.
The band tear it loose, all in a good way, on the raging speedster
ôSlave to Dreamsö which pours steel cutting shreds in quick, hectic
succession in the best tradition of Atheist, the leads again playing the
role of the more melodic mediator. The shadow of the aforementioned
American masters is probably bigger on the closing ôCrown of Thornsö
which also gives a chance to the bassist to reveal his talents to the
fullest, and the man indeed acquits himself no worse than Mr. Steve
DiGiorgio, dueling with the guitar players for domination, the battle
split in the middle by a beautiful quiet interlude. And thatÆs it, a bit
over half an hour of standout musicianship, another possible nod to
Atheist as the latter were also never interested in keeping the fan
glued to the player for ages.
Technical death metal was in a serious crisis in terms of new forcesÆ
emergence, and although the usual suspects (Death, Suffocation,
Cryptopsy, Gorguts) were all up and running, more or less regularly,
there were hardly any young upstarts to join the waning legions of this
sub-genre. Scenery caused a wave of resurgence in Europe with this
debut, the same time when Martyr caused a similar one on the other side
of the Atlantic with the hopeful ôHopeless Hopesö. On the thrash metal
side things looked a bit better, at least in Europe, with the appearance
of the Germans Mind-AshesÆ ôThe Views Obscuredö and the Danes Unleashed
PowerÆs ôMindfailureö (both released in 1997). The French Droys struck
with ôAnd Ifàö a year later, followed by the legendary Necrophagist
debut in 1999, and another obscure but utterly essential technical metal
act, Sore Plexus (Germany) whose full-length ôHaptephobicö (1999) was
another immaculate display of very technical, progressive, mathematical
thrash. The list goes on and onà
So Scenery did a pioneering job back in those days to wake up the
dormant spirit of the genre although they only sporadically released
albums throughout the years making healthy 4/6 year gaps between them.
Obviously, like with most of the big musical talents of recent times,
music wasnÆt their full-time occupation and they had to give their toll
to the cruel reality. Their debut, however, remains their most
aggressive offspring so far; the follow-up ôPhilosophy of Agesàö (2002)
concentrated more on the more laid-back progressive side of their
delivery, and the fast-paced headbanging moments were almost completely
gone. They came back to an extent on ôContinuityö (2006) which was a
pleasing mixture of its two predecessors thus satisfying a wider gamut
of fans.
The band made a major step forward with their latest effort ôMental
Confusionö (2012) which is a grandiose progressive thrash/death metal
opera, a beautiful surreal opus with atmospheric build-ups and amazing
complex riff-patterns. The up-tempo passages are gone again, but this
offering is so stunningly w?ven that one would hardly care too much
about them. Its ephemeral spacey nature binds it with other similar
great works, like DisaffectedÆs ôRebirthö (2012), Beheaded ZombieÆs
ôHappiness for Allö (2009), and SerdceÆs ôThe Alchemy of Harmonyö (2009)
which tried to push the genre towards more melodic, more ôbeautifulö
territories. Well, death metal can only get handsome that far, and
hopefully the future cosmetic alterations that are in stall wonÆt make
our favourite genre into a major cause for millions of fansÆ mental
confusion.
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