Album review: SKARLETT RIOT – Invicta
[Release date 07.05.21]
With this latest album, Skarlett Riot have arrived at the forefront of the modern Metal scene. This UK quartet with a heavy hitting, superbly talented female vocalist and heavy, riff-led songs blending melody and raw power, Invicta delivers 11 pure metal tracks that matches talent with pure attitude and builds on the harder, heavier, faster sound showcased on their second album, ‘Regenerate’.
The band are clearly comfortable in their darker and heavier guise, reminding me of Within Temptation blended with a little Slipknot, amongst others, from the opening track, ‘Breaking the Habit’ this is a full on, metal album where the pace, riffs and energy are unrelentless, Skarlett’s vocal range is fully showcased and ranges from sheer power to utter gritty delivery.
The album was recorded throughout a time of massive global uncertainty and confusion, ‘Invicta’ is an unapologetically forthright release, with songs that pull no punches.
The band comments: ‘We are so excited to finally release our brand-new album ‘INVICTA’! This album has been three years in the making and we can’t wait for you to hear the results of the huge amount of work that’s gone into this. We’ve overcome so much together as a band throughout the years and ‘Invicta’ represents the physical and mental struggles we’ve experienced together and individually, making us who we are today – Invicta.” – Skarlett Riot.
There have been 3 singles released to date – ‘Gravity’, which has a Slipknot esq feel, “do you ever feel like you don’t belong, you’re not alone”; ‘Stronger’ with heavy riffs and ‘Human’ which is sublime.
This album demands your attention, needs to be played loud and by my second listen, I was hooked in. My tracks of choice were ‘Black Cloud’ as it showcases the breadth of Skarlett’s vocal range, ‘Not Alone’ and ‘Cut the Ties’ for the overall demonstration of the talent in the whole band, including the male backing vocals which are powerful in their own right and the heavy intro which certainly will clear out any cobwebs.
I love the fact that more and more females are leading metal bands, it’s a fantastic triumph of modern metal and rock – all power to you Skarlett, you’ll have audiences bowing down in awe with that range and sheer talent, long may you and others continue to take the metal scene by storm.
If you haven’t heard of them before, and you like your music on the heavy side of metal then give this a listen, if you’re a festival goer, you may have seen them already at Download Festival, Leeds and Reading Festival, Metal Female Voices Festival, Bloodstock, Hard Rock Hell, Camden Rocks, Steelhouse and a host of other festivals. I’m sure we will be seeing them grace the stage again soon and I for one, will be waiting, it promises to be one hell of a show. ****
Review by Karen Clayton
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ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
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BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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