ALBUM REVIEW: Scars For You To Remember – Varials

Philadelphia’s VARIALS aren’t a particularly rare breed at the moment. The idea of taking a classic metallic hardcore sound, injecting it with elements of nu, alt and industrial metal, and running the results through the all the best production tools the 2020s have to offer has worked wonders for many in recent years. But just because there are a fair few bands doing a vaguely similar thing at the moment doesn’t mean you should skip these guys. As their third full-length Scars For You To Remember attests – in a little over half an hour at that – VARIALS can absolutely hang with the best of them.

This is a tight and punchy record in more ways than one. Not one of its 12 tracks tops the four-minute mark, with the album careening past its listeners in a flurry of chugging riffs, pulsating industrial influences and invariably muscular breakdowns. The production helps them to land every blow, especially with drummer Sean Rauchut’s machine-gun precise kick work which provides a particularly powerful focal point while still sitting appropriately in the mix. The guitars and bass lock into this with ease, and while it is a polished sound overall it does feel well-suited to requirements here.

Crucially however, at no point does the crispness and clarity of sound neuter VARIALS’ ability to deliver on throat-grabbing savagery. A lot of it comes from vocalist Mitchell Rogers in particular, who marks his first outing in this role for the band with an aggressive performance that leans heavily on the kind of visceral uncleans you would absolutely expect here. Opening up the proverbial pit with A Body Wrapped In Plastic – Prologue, Rogers and co. soon set about unleashing an opening run of total violence as the band tear through the first chunk of the record with scarcely a moment’s respite. This remains Scars’ primary gear throughout, and as lead single .50 later confirms, VARIALS are definitely at their best when they have their eyes on your jugular.

The band are also sensible enough not to spend all their time trying to kill you though. Scars comes with three brief interludes to break things up, but it’s actually tracks like Day 3 – Revenge and Circles which do the most for the album in terms of variation. The former has a particularly heavy industrial edge, a massive melodic chorus that one could imagine a band like LOATHE being pretty proud of, and what sounds like a couple of guests in the track’s last minute detour into deathcore-esque violence and a brief burst of half-rapped vocals. The latter leans into something even more expansive and melodic, with soaring clean vocals and sweeping synth work anchored by the band’s weighty metallic chugging and Rauchut’s ever-potent drums.

With moments like these mixing things up just enough, Scars For You To Remember never outstays its welcome. What this album may lack in originality it makes up for in complete conviction, and while you should be able to find plenty of records which do a similar thing, if you are looking for a decent hit of modern metalcore then there is absolutely no reason why you wouldn’t reach for this one every now and again. 

Rating: 7/10

Scars For You To Remember is set for release on October 14th via Fearless Records.

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