ALBUM REVIEW: Leave A Scar – Dee Snider
We may be out of the thicket of restrictions but the mental ramifications of the pandemic will be long reaching. Metal legend DEE SNIDER opens the door to his experiences with new record Leave A Scar. The long-awaited successor to 2018’s For The Love Of Metal drops almost three years to the date later on July 30th.
Produced by HATEBREED’s Jamey Jasta, Leave A Scar is a 12 track trip through the kaleidoscope of emotion. Opening I Gotta Rock (Again) asserts dominance over the melancholia. This tale of “heavy metal healing” plays out to catchy guitar hooks from Charlie Bellmore and Nick Petrino. The dynamic duo’s time to shine comes early as they trade off solos over Nick Bellmore’s drums of power. The heavy breakdown slings mud in the face of adversity, making I Gotta Rock (Again) a solid opening track.
Leave A Scar is a culmination of Snider’s outfit using For The Love Of Metal as a launch pad to cement their legacy. All Or Nothing More combines melodies of classic metal with the crispness of modern. All while maintaining the message of fighting what you want as “the ring’s there for taking”. Pulling from the current, metalcore-inspired In For The Kill’s bass line thumps through juddering guitars. The sharp, boast rap vocal delivery comes as a surprise from the metal legend, yet it works. Though to reach full potential, In For The Kill lacks the aggressive crunch it needs.
An album is nothing if not a proving ground. But there are times this experimentation falls short. Enter George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher. Guesting on Time To Choose, the CANNIBAL CORPSE vocalist is in his chaotic element. Adding grit to this confrontation, Fisher’s growls, though few, dominate the song. The inclusion of CANNIBAL CORPSE should’ve prompted Snider to wade further into death metal. This combination, and how reined in it feels, is more of an oddity than it should be.
Balance restores with S.H.E, an exercise in a groove mimicking the sway of a woman’s hips. The first half of S.H.E is DEE SNIDER done right. Foundations of meaty riffs and foot tapping rhythm allow the chorus’ harmonies to breathe. Yet, a recurring issue rears its head. There’s no debate Bellmore and Petrino are phenomenal guitarists, but the eagerness to display these technical abilities take away from the base song. With S.H.E, for example, the solos come at the expense of the groove this house rests on.
This record isn’t balls to the wall anger. For an album to be appreciated, more than one emotional facet should be on display. Delving into the complexity of mental health, Silent Battles slows the train. Russell Pzütto’s bass pounds out the intro rhythm, grabbing our attention by the balls. When the full band blooms, this isn’t a rager but it’s also not a ballad. Snider builds on this alteration of song structure throughout the album. Crying For Your Love tinkers with escalation from brooding to pummelling hostility. As the song develops, the soundscape of damnation and contempt toward cowardice is divine. Fast, technical transition licks wash over us like a blistering hot shower.
Leave A Scar takes what For The Love Of Metal created and amplifies it tenfold. Despite the few overly-ambitious moments, this is DEE SNIDER’s return to form. Leave A Scar is proof the metal monolith’s legacy is rock solid.
Rating: 8/10
Leave A Scar is set for release on July 30th via Napalm Records.
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