There are bands that are stuck on demo level recordings year after year, but that's a category where I would not insert Gallows Throne into, as they show an honorable amount of skill on their first release which also works as their major debut album, Scourge of Bedlam.
Comparing this deftly executed piece of both ominous and beautiful sounding black metal to other bands isn't that easy, but after some thinking I'm leaning towards a hybrid that contains the harshness of Black Twilight Circle but with an added touch of post black metal à la Altar of Plagues and even Fen - the latter comparison mostly in regard to the howling vocals. Most of the time, Scourge of Bedlam twirls as a furious evil creature without mercy, but then might suddenly turn into soothing, sunny landscapes. A good example would be the ending of "Celebration of Endings": the listener is calmed, but then BOOM, "Terminal Fog" kicks in immediately after with its blast beats and discordant tremolo picking.
Running less than thirty minutes, it is easy to keep track of what's happening on the album, and the rather diverse soundscape they have, ranging from beauty to abject insanity, keeps me interested throughout. Another question, then, is how good the whole is in the end. I'm definitely liking this, but some of the mood shifts I find to be too sudden, kind of ruining the flow. I'd be up for an entirely calm album, or the opposite of that, but when they are all conflated, I'm getting vibes of a style of music that maybe tries too much to be experimental. Less would be good but then again, that's just me. This is the opposite of a monotonous black metal album, so for an extremely dynamic black metal experience, Scourge of Bedlam is surely recommended.
3 / 5
