Album review: Scribes of Fire – Zauberer

I really love bands that put out their own stuff; it shows such faith and naiveté. Straddling multiple genres of rock and metal, Scribes Of Fire spread their net wide on Zauberer, from the rapid-fire snare shots of modern metal to the sprawling (and occasionally disjointed) rolling thunder of progressive metal to the stoner riffs of sludge and doom and the meandering curls of laid-back swamp rock. This quartet cover all the bases, usually in the same song.

Squeezing it all together, Scribes Of Fire end up in an area of thoughtful doom metal previously unexplored. Gloriously basic production belies a crushing slow-blues trudge that fits comfortably with the raw-throated vocal work (although God only knows what he’s singing about – I refer you to their website if you’re curious) which runs from crooned Southern rock styles through Napalm Death grunting, Sabbath-era Ozzy-isms, the highly distorted and treated vocals of industrial, throwing in some slurred low-pitched throat pyrotechnics which all go to demonstrate Ben Abelson’s range while still sounding ever so slightly flat. Maybe that’s just me.

Scribes Of Fire‘s hyperbolic covering letter (written by the practical, PR-savvy drummer, natch) describes the band in scattershot prose that covers almost as much ground as the music itself. Why is it always drummers who take on this role in bands? Every song on Zauberer (all five of them!) checks in around the eight minute mark. Opener “Ship Of Fools” starts with a pounding thrash metal cacophony before suddenly slowing to an Opeth-like crawl. In fact, Opeth sound like a huge influence on Scribes Of Fire; replace the chilly Scandinavian landscapes with  Brooklyn grit and urban sensibilities, and you’ve got a reasonable idea where they’re coming from.

“We Can Build You” proceeds in much the same style as its predecessor but throws in words from Goethe’s “Faust” while trying for a more classic rock guitar style than previously. The plodding throb of the verses quickly builds (sure, a pun – it’s funnier than the album) into a galloping chorus but the band seem unable to construct long songs; instead they thrash about in all directions looking for a settled style. And, let’s be honest, surely one of the inspirations for “We Can Build You” is Philip K. Dick? [I can remember that for you wholesale. - Ed.]

“Distance” weirdly recalls laid-back seventies rock bands, but chucks in the usual rhythmic complications to sweeten the pill. “Pink Lagoon” continues in much the same vein as the rest of Zauberer, but mines a peculiarly straight-ahead rock riff direction before we return to fast/slow pointlessness and turgid noise.

Ending with the almost ten minute “Demon Dust”, Zauberer once again shows off the variety of the band’s influences and ambitions, but lacks the same spark that is missing from the rest of the track listing. The only saving grace here is that the melody matches the vocal work, resulting in an almost hummable tune that shows Scribes of Fire‘s classic sludge rock credentials.

What is most surprising is the sheer breadth of guitar noises and styles on show. From strums and plucks to riffs and jangles to piercing solos and heavy rhythm work, Phil Salvagione shows himself to be a dilettante of the guitar: endlessly changing styles but uncertain as to mastery of any one. Scribes Of Fire have a lot of growing to do but, on this evidence, they may have some sort of future. I just don’t know who their audience will turn out to be.