Skarlett Riot
'Invicta'
Genre: Modern Metal
Despotz Records, 2021
I'm now at a point in my love for Skarlett Riot that new releases bring with them a certain amount of trepidation. Will the new batch of songs meet the quality of their previous output? Will the performances be up to scratch? Will they have found new ways of presenting their sound or will they have stagnated by now? Well. Any fears I may have had were unfounded, as 'Invicta', their latest album for Despotz Records is everything a fan could want and so much more.
The band's sound continues to evolve from their original blueprint, but it's a natural progression rather than the marked shift that happened between their 'We Are The Brave' and 'Sentience' EPs a few years back.
'Invicta' is the sound of a band that isn't afraid to push themselves, and the most obvious example of that here is vocalist Chloe/Skarlett now incorporating harsh screamed vocals here and there to great effect while maintaining that crystal clear melodic tone the rest of the time. It's an approach that works well.
A few years ago I suggested the band should do away with harsh vocals as they had been done to death at the time, but here they're used for added power and impact and it works very well.
With the guttural roars of new bassist Tim Chambers in evidence all over the album, there's a feeling of Amaranthe to several songs, while others evoke bands like In This Moment, Architects and even the Butcher Babies, albeit with a noticeable sense of progression (even touches of prog metal – don't think I didn't notice!).
The songs all carry the trademark Skarlett Riot theatre and enormous choruses. Danny's guitar is razor-sharp the whole way through, although I would have liked to hear more of his beautiful lead playing.
Luke's powerhouse drumming remains the spine of the band's sound, and I swear he either has three legs or is able to hold an extra drumstick with a certain other appendage. Standout tracks for me are 'Gravity', 'Stronger', 'Falling' and 'Human', but the quality is consistent throughout.
An outstanding album that would be a full 10/10 with some more lead guitar. That aside, this is seriously good.
9.5/10
Skarlett Riot - 'Invicta' on Amazon
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