Scrom - Renaissance

Year of Release: 2001
Label: self-released
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 56:47:00

I believe this band hails from either Argentina or Brazil [their website seems to indicate Argentina -ed]. In a nutshell, this is the South American counterpart to Italy's Empty Tremor, although without being as progressive or intricate as that band. Scrom pays much homage to bands like Empty Tremor, Stonehenge, and even some bits of Shadow Gallery along the way. The dual guitars and dual keyboards give them a nice thick sound like the aforementioned bands, and the layered vocal harmonies remind me of Shadow Gallery in part. The music is very progressive, although melodic and not hard to follow at all. There are tons of stops, starts and tempo changes for the prog at heart, and for those who need their warmth, it's certainly there with many warm keyboard / acoustic guitar passages intertwined within the heavier based song structures.

The songs are split between English and Spanish lyrics, and the singer has a thick accent as well. It is tough to distinguish the words of the singer, especially since the songs are pretty long. The booklet will be needed to follow along, especially with the Spanish lyrics. The production is very good, with a nice mix of instruments, given the many sounds this band produces.

The band appears to be very young, thus the Empty Tremor comparison, although their age does not take away from their talent. This is a very talented band that could make some waves like Empty Tremor did in their young days. With some exposure up north, and a little guidance, this band could make a statement in the ever-growing population of prog metal bands.

Tracklisting:
A New Beginning (7:45) / Youth (5:09) / Storm Of Tension (0:49) / The Other Me (5:07) / Reality Over Me: I. The Confession - II. Distortion Of Feelings - III. Sentimental Whirl - IV. The Conclusion (9:52) / Bonus tracks: D.A.T.S (2:42) / Estados Alterados (5:01) / Mundo Salvaje (6:41) / La Ultima Ciudad (7:00) / Utopian love (En Vivo) (7:01)

Musicians:
Agustin Speroni - drums
Martin Moguillansky - guitars, backing vocals
Luciano Guagliardo - lead & backing vocals, bass, keyboards
Adrian Aguirre - guitars
Fernando Balestra - keyboards, backing vocals

Discography:
Estados Alterados (ep) (1998)
Nuevos Guerreros II (comp.) (1999)
Renaissance (2001)
Dreamer (tba?)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin IT

Added: March 9th 2002
Reviewer: Larry "LarryD" Daglieri

Artist website: www.scromprogressive.com.ar
Hits: 2030
Language: english