Scaremaker - What Evil Have They Summoned

Release Date: May 27, 2010
Label: Razorback Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Dark Night of the Scaremaker
     (Intro)
2.  Demonic Infestation
3.  The Hatched
4.  Carpathian Breed
5.  In the Shadow of the Matriarch
6.  Burning Inquisition
7.  Diabolical Metamorphosis
8.  Gore Shriek
9.  The Professor
10.  Nocturnal Bloodbath
11.  Fatal Eve
12.  Archaic Offerings
13.  Devil’s Son (DC LaCroix Cover)

Total playing time:  35:14

December 6, 2010

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

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*Comments:

I’d like to begin this review by stating that I’m a huge fan of Razorback Records.  They do us all a great service by releasing some of the most raucous and enjoyable death metal albums around while managing to not take themselves all that seriously; a fact I’ve always found to be quite refreshing in the often absurdly mad-faced world of death metal.  Label proprietor Billy Nocera and his lovely wife Vanessa have a band now, and that band is Scaremaker.  To be honest, if I owned a somewhat renowned and respectable metal record label, I’d probably eventually decide to crank out my own album just for the hell of it so I definitely don’t hold that against them.  Unfortunately, debut full-length What Evil Have They Summoned doesn’t really do much to impress or entertain, particularly when held up to the standards created by the majority of releases on the same label. 

It’s not that What Evil Have They Summoned is unlistenable, but it seriously lacks any of the propulsive groove that makes three person death metal bands that work, work.  Too many of the songs, “In the Shadow of the Matriarch” and “Nocturnal Bloodbath” in particular, plod along mirthlessly devoid of the spark necessary for death metal of a simpler nature to enthrall, and the unfortunate result is a rather bland, forgettable album that overstays its welcome, and feels far longer than its 35 minute running time.  When they pick up the pace a bit they start to fare a little better and “Carpathian Breed” and “Diabolical Metamorphosis” show signs of promise, but the meager gains are erased by awkwardly amateurish tracks like “Burning Inquisition” and “Gore Shriek”.  Top it off with an uncomfortable cover track at the end and we’re left with an album that is impossible to remember immediately after listening and that I simply cannot recommend unless you absolutely must own every Razorback release.