Scitalis are a Swedish black metal band and this is their debut album.
I enjoyed Scitalis’ debut EP Awakening from last year, so am pleased that they now have a full album ready to be unleashed.
Scitalis play aggressive black metal that makes good use of molten melodies and grim moods. Building on the strengths of their EP, Doomed Before Time contains 44 minutes of blackened darkness.
Much of the material here is of the fast, hyper-aggressive school of black metal. The songs rage with furious intensity, while melodies burn against the pitch black backdrop of the fiery rhythm guitars.
The hostile songs are well-crafted and brimming with passion and venomous bite. The music’s melodic potency is channelled well, allowing the songs to build atmosphere and mood, while also maintaining the intensity that the band clearly favour. When they do vary the pace though, Scitalis reveal themselves to be just as capable in these slower arenas too.
Doomed Before Time is an enjoyable slice of black metal, and one that is easy to recommend for fans of the style.
Wonderbox Metal 