Mastic Scum
CTRL

A bit of scum from Austria is what we are dealing with in this album named from a part of the world famous command all Windows users know by heart and use daily. And speaking of such things as parts of the digital era it looks a bit futuristic, the cover artwork that is. It is the fifth album by the band and in line with the band’s naming rules the title is in only one word just like all their previous albums. So what can I then say about these guys and this album.

Well, classic death metal. Heavy, with growly vocals and some slight melodic touches. Quite unoriginal I would say, maybe those spoken word parts can be described as somewhat atypical but that isn’t really setting the album apart from other death metal albums I have heard. Lyrically themed in the science fiction storylines, not very science fictiony musically though. In a way I think it is a bit of an archetype for death metal, badass and heavy, kind of boring. Strong production giving it a heavy impression and impact, not overly varied but short and to the point.

Not bad, though it starts quite badly but then picks up to end fairly good. Overall I would describe it as a decent album but nothing to write home about. A bit too unimaginative to really stand out for that reason and not good enough to stand out from a quality standpoint. Mastic Scum and their CTRL just doesn’t quite cut it for me, it is an okay album to listen to but nothing more than that.

Other than the ending of this album it isn’t anything that floats my boat. An album typical of a genre not really known for its creativity, typical death metal and unfortunately it is something I have already heard more than enough of. Mastic Scum just doesn’t do it well enough to change that notion. So going with cyber references as this album’s cover suggest I would call this a musical equivalence of the classic blue screen of death all windows user know and dread.

HHHHHHH