Founded in Mumbai nearly 15 years ago, in 1998, Indian Thrash Metal jewel, Sceptre, After releasing their second full length album in 2013, entitled “Age of Calamity”, which will come out exclusively at the Thrashfest to be held on February 9, 2014 in a special 15th anniversary slipcase edition.
The album begins with “Solitude”, and truly the title song says it all: a dark ambient with beautiful grim female vocals in the background, whereupon the song that hold the album’s name, “Age of Calamity” begins. Heavy and sharp riffs, harsh vocals and screams is what characterizes this song the most. The album gets heavier with every song, “Wrath of God” (the 3rd track) comes with a more interesting structure, with both slow and fast thrash tempos, while the vocals reach more violent levels. The riffs from “Prophesy Deceit” are somewhat similar to Dimebag’s genius, whereas the last and the bonus track, “Lest We Forget” escapes the Thrash sphere and shows some Metalcore features from the sound of the guitars, rhythm and vocalsI have to say that I’m impressed how vocalist Samron Jude adjusts his vocals so well. The riffs, although at some point a bit repetitive, have a pretty unique touch, indicating an interesting build-up of the album. A small minus from me when it comes to the drumming , although perfectly timed and greatly performed, it’s their low volume that bothers me - I honestly believe that a stronger sound from the drums would’ve given “Age of Calamity” a more solid output.
But nevertheless, “Age of Calamity” is a good album that brings back the heavy steam of Thrash Metal from the 80s-90s, wrapped with a modern touch, worth having it among your Thrash album collection.
Rating: 4 - Review by Kevin Junk Kidd - Jan 24, 2014
Rating: 4 - Review by Kevin Junk Kidd - Jan 24, 2014
