Yersin – The Scythe Is Remorseless
Yersin – The Scythe Is Remorseless
Trepanation Records
Release Date: 10/01/24
Running Time: 24:38
Review by Oli Gonzalez
8/10
Yersin. A new band to me but have been operating for almost a decade now. Based in the North East of England, they are on the eve of releasing their latest record, “The Scythe Is Remorseless” due to be released via Trepanation Records. A label I’m somewhat familiar with, having acquired a rather impressive roster of bands in and round the UK, bands that lay on the more alternative heavier end of the metal spectrum. So, let’s get into it…
We humans like to have logical categorisations for things. Take animals for example. Does it have fur? It’s a mammal. Wings? Bird. And so on. Then something like the duck-billed platypus comes along and makes an absolute mess of any rules and categories you had planned, mucking up all that progress. I’d describe Yersin as a duck-billed platypus of genres. With so many elements coming from Hardcore, Sludge, Black, Death, and Doom Metal sub genres, it’d take someone brave/foolish to pigeon hole this band into one genre. While blending so many sub-genres can run the risk of becoming an incoherent mess, Yersin gets the balance just right I feel, which is one of many things I found admirable about the record. I’m saying this now as I’ll be honest, it did take me some time to warm to it, and maybe after my third listen was when I truly began to appreciate what’s on offer here. So, what is on offer here then and what did I think of “The Scythe Is Remorseless”?
The first thing that stood out to me was the raw and uncompromising production. While some bands can sadly come away from the studio appearing too polished and refined, there’s no risk of that with “The Scythe Is Remorseless”. The album is honest, raw, and gritty from the start. Much in the same way anything by Sludge/Stoner heavyweights Conan would be on their records.
Yersin seem to be especially skilled in creating atmospheric tension in the beginning of songs, luring you into a false sense of security before blasting your senses with unrelenting aggression and intensity. While you need darkness for light to shine, you need calm and tranquillity to appreciate the heaviness. There’s multiple examples of this on the album, though the ominous opening to ‘Triumphant’ and the gorgeous blackened atmospheric passage to ‘Doom’ both stood out to me the most. With this being said, I do wonder if some passages are a little too short lived and maybe stretching them out a little would allow for more tension and atmosphere to be built?
Some songs simply don’t have room nor time for atmosphere, with ‘To The Masses’ wasting no time and delivering a Grind-inspired frenzy, clocking in at just under 2 minutes. I dread to think what carnage this could cause in a live setting.
The band’s guitarist demonstrates versatility throughout the record. There’s evidence of some fine technical work in ‘Mouths Like Open Graves’ as well as on the album’s title track ‘The Scythe Is Remorseless’, while being able to mix this up with some simple yet devastatingly brutal Stoner Doom style riffs in the aptly named song ‘Doom’. I’m convinced he was possessed by the spirit of Kerry King in the opening to ‘Lust For Crust’, with deployment of ‘squealie’ pinch harmonics! The drums also demonstrate versatility with some interesting double speed rhythmic patterns, and some good old fashioned Death Metal inspired blastbeats. The vocals are consistently fierce throughout, with some instantly memorable lines and distinct vocal tone.
What could make this album better? I alluded to the raw and gritty production at the beginning. I do wonder if some refinement would be required somewhere. Though they may well be going more of that raw, industrial style edge. If so, then they’ve certainly achieved this.
Overall, this is promising for Yersin and a solid record.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Triumphant
02. Mouths Like Open Graves
03. The Scythe Is Remorseless
04. Lust For Crust
05. Red Mist
06. To The Masses
07. Doom
LINE-UP:
Rob Scott – Guitar
Chris Mallan – Drums
Chris Storey – Vocals
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Oli Gonzalez and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
