Naked Scarecrow are a French
Death Metal which has been around since 1995. They may be scarecrows but they certainly are naked if you look at the Chippendale-like pics from the bio. Which sums up actually this interesting dichotomy that the band portrays and which is quite the question: are
Naked Scarecrow a serious band or are they a joke band?
The answer is obviously to be found inside their second album entitled
Pathetic Soul which they just self-released. So? So, it’s hard to say and most likely sometimes they want it play like fools and sometimes bring more upfront their more serious side. This is indeed a very “French” symptom in
Metal but still you ought to give these guys a try.
To
Naked Scarecrow’s classical
Death Metal structure, one should know that the keys are a main instrument to the lineup and often it’s those keys that determine the mood for any given song. The eponymous track,,
Pathetic Soul, is per se a great example of “orthodox”
Death Metal played a la
Nocturnus blasting their way into hell with double-pedal drumming and ultra-catchy riffing which would have been fitted to be featured on the Floridians' masterpiece “The Key”.
Still you will soon discover the other face of the band namely hilarious accelerations typical of Grindcore under the influence in tracks like
Crucifix or Ordalie which sound like a modern version of
Macabre.
With the keys playing such an important role, sometimes they sound more “ironic” as in some merry-go-round from hell, sometimes with more techno / industrial influences like on ‘Welcome to the
Universe’ which sound as much as
Treponem Pal as the Austrian mad machines
Pungent Stench from their Dirty Rhimes and Psychotronic Beats’ era. As you can see, there is a wide variety of genres and influences spicing these dudes’ music.
After quite a few spins, the album becomes a grower though certainly the most “old-school” of us will find this a bit “too much”, too many ideas with the strength of an avalanche which sometimes, to be 100% honest, may sound a bit too farfetched. For those who appreciate a touch of madness in their
Death Metal as was displayed in the music of
Pungent Stench or even
Disharmonic Orchestra and Pan.Thy.Monium,
Pathetic Soul is quite the shiny gem which you’d be ill-advised to let go without a formal try.
The band takes so many risks and they should be praised for this, though the sheer force of the compositions is also one of the main pluses of this record which is definitely the outsider in a
Death Metal scene where most bands must answer this difficult question: “old-school revival without originality” or “technical brutal
Death Metal without a soul”?
Naked Scarecrow do not answer this question but get on with their own music and in a genre where most people think that everything has been said twenty years ago, they do surprise us in many ways. Definitely a record to be recommended.
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