MONSTRAAT - Scythe & Sceptre (FALLEN TEMPLE - CD 2017)
It's been a while since Monstraat stroke with their self-titled debut album. In the meantime, only "The One Eternal" EP came out. But finally 2018 exhumes for us another Monstraat corpse, a second full length called "Scythe & Sceptre". And what can I write... This CD doesn't really need long description. It's just total necro raw black metal, minimalistic and harsh as fuck, with cold, grim atmosphere - just like papa Fenriz and papa Nocturno Culto taught us back in the early 90's.
"Scythe & Sceptre" isn't fantastic album. It repeats the same type of riffs and simplistic arrangements, which dozens of similar albums already did in the past. Monstraat doesn't even try to be original - and they don't have to. I suppose this type of black metal doesn't need it. It sounds good in this old, traditional form - and the only question is if the band managed to recreate that necro-aura well enough. Monstraat did. "Scythe & Sceptre" is a solid album. There are six songs plus Katharsis cover and intro / outro on it and with 30 minutes on the clock, it delivers a good portion of black metal. It's mainly fast paced, but some slower fragments also appear - and I always like them the most. Generally, I think that "Scythe & Sceptre", even if far from being remarkable, is a recommended effort for this genre, so I'm not gonna make this review any longer. If you're a fan, then get it. Otherwise there's nothing for you here.
Verdict: 70/100
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