Scarecrown – “Letters from the Darkness” (2008)

Label : Deadsun Records

Review by Nina Sky

Hailing from Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy we have gothic metallers Scarecrown, who formed in 2004. The band is currently signed to Deadsun Records. Italy is not known for having many metal bands. The biggest band to come out of Italy is Lacuna Coil from Milano, of course comparisons between both Scarecrown and Lacuna Coil are near unaviodable. The band consists of Andrea Boscariol on guitars and backing vocals, Simone Sut on bass, Blackie on guitar and additional backing vocals, Fabio Tomba on drums and last but by no means least Antonella Buosi on vocals. I remember when I first picked up the album I thought the band was another Italian band with a pretty singer. However, no only is Antonella pretty but she can sing. The first track is “My Own Devil”, which is powerful both musically and vocally. The music is energetic and fast paced, with solid powerful choruses and verses. The song pulled me into the album after thirty seconds. Antonella knows how to put across the lyric with powerful vocals on most tracks combined with sweet notes, however she is no opera singer. Antonella‘s versatility really captivated me throughout the album her combinations of different vocal techniques and styles help build up the atmosphere on the album, along with the grunts from Blackie and Andrea. The music is any but boring with speedy riffs, pounding drumming and thrashing bass. The music is solid all the way through the albums and fit perfectly hand in hand with all the vocals. In all honesty there is not a single bad track on the album, the best for me include “My Own Devil”, “She”, “Night Like Eyes” and “Without Voice”. I like these the most because of the lyrics and the ways the band explore different levels throughout the songs with different vocals combinations and heavy riffs.