Review by Carl on September 17, 2024.

For me personally, black metal goes down best when it's fast, raw, and, well, just nuts. Don't get me wrong, I like the more elaborate (mostly 90's) bands just as good, but you can't shake that crazy underground feel that the rougher, more unhinged bands exude. And when it comes to raw and unhinged, there's no denying Bahimiron, for sure.

Presented in a rough sound production completely devoid of any digital frills, the band charges through a duo of tracks that fuses blast beat-driven, tremolo-picked rage with the usual croaking black metal screams, only occasionally taking the foot off the gas pedal to let a pounding midtempo section seep in. These usually don't last long, only momentarily breaking up the high velocity before going straight back into another bout of seething fury. Bahimiron does not deviate a whole lot from the template set out by Scandinavian acts like early 90's Immortal and Marduk, black metal period Bathory, "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Darkthrone, and a hungover Dark Funeral after skipping a couple of showers. Inject some nods to Archgoat and early Beherit in there, and that could perhaps describe best the noxious concoction brewing here. It's raw, aggressive and certainly ugly, both music and sound mix, which is the best way no-frills underground black metal ought to be presented in my opinion.

Bahimiron shows here that creating menacing and truly evil-sounding black metal doesn't need to be complicated. This EP does not move any goalposts or re-evaluates the genre in far-fetched ways, but simply keeps proceedings raw and energetic in its delivery, to great effect. This is a competent blast of underground delight, nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Adam on January 3, 2003.

Every time I say that melodic death metal has nothing else to offer, a band like Soulscar comes out and makes me eat those very words. It is not the fact that these guys are doing anything too different, because to be quite honestly, they are not. However, Soulscar do show a hell of a lot of style on their debut album ”Character Assassin” that can only serve well in their progression on future releases.

Soulscar consists of two full-fledged members, Andrew Staehling and Brent Mackenzie, with the others listed as supporting players. Staehling handles guitar, vocals, and keyboards while Mackenzie takes care of bass and extra vocals. They play fairly straightforward melodic metal. At times it strays away from the melodic death style to venture into more traditional metal territory, which was refreshing to hear. The only complaints I have here are with the vocals. They almost sound like whispered screams if there is such a thing. After all this time of listening to this CD, I still have not gotten fully used to them; therefore, I hope next time around they concentrate more on that aspect.

Without a doubt the standout track on “Character Assassin” is ‘Sacrifices.’ I suggest that Soulscar explore the clean vocals on this song a bit more in the future as they really add a whole new dynamic to their sound. The atmospheric guitar leads evident on the song would also be another interesting thing to see the group expand upon. Throughout the CD you notice little things like this. They even stick in the occasional Viking-inspired leads, which really stick out on “Character Assassin” and make it more interesting to listen to. Little things like this could really work to set Soulscar apart from their contemporaries if continued to expand upon.

If you are into melodic metal then I would suggest you keep a close eye on Soulscar. They have the uncanny ability to go from melodic to traditional to thrash and back again and still keep their style intact. This style, however, is still in the teenage stage and showing some growing pains yet that is only natural. These guys just may blow me away with their next disc if they choose to expand and concentrate on certain aspects listed above. Only time will tell!

Bottom Line: A modest introduction for the band. Give them a shot. I see good things for the future!

Categorical Rating Breakdown:

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 6
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by Carl on September 17, 2024.

For me personally, black metal goes down best when it's fast, raw, and, well, just nuts. Don't get me wrong, I like the more elaborate (mostly 90's) bands just as good, but you can't shake that crazy underground feel that the rougher, more unhinged bands exude. And when it comes to raw and unhinged, there's no denying Bahimiron, for sure.

Presented in a rough sound production completely devoid of any digital frills, the band charges through a duo of tracks that fuses blast beat-driven, tremolo-picked rage with the usual croaking black metal screams, only occasionally taking the foot off the gas pedal to let a pounding midtempo section seep in. These usually don't last long, only momentarily breaking up the high velocity before going straight back into another bout of seething fury. Bahimiron does not deviate a whole lot from the template set out by Scandinavian acts like early 90's Immortal and Marduk, black metal period Bathory, "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Darkthrone, and a hungover Dark Funeral after skipping a couple of showers. Inject some nods to Archgoat and early Beherit in there, and that could perhaps describe best the noxious concoction brewing here. It's raw, aggressive and certainly ugly, both music and sound mix, which is the best way no-frills underground black metal ought to be presented in my opinion.

Bahimiron shows here that creating menacing and truly evil-sounding black metal doesn't need to be complicated. This EP does not move any goalposts or re-evaluates the genre in far-fetched ways, but simply keeps proceedings raw and energetic in its delivery, to great effect. This is a competent blast of underground delight, nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Carl on September 17, 2024.

For me personally, black metal goes down best when it's fast, raw, and, well, just nuts. Don't get me wrong, I like the more elaborate (mostly 90's) bands just as good, but you can't shake that crazy underground feel that the rougher, more unhinged bands exude. And when it comes to raw and unhinged, there's no denying Bahimiron, for sure.

Presented in a rough sound production completely devoid of any digital frills, the band charges through a duo of tracks that fuses blast beat-driven, tremolo-picked rage with the usual croaking black metal screams, only occasionally taking the foot off the gas pedal to let a pounding midtempo section seep in. These usually don't last long, only momentarily breaking up the high velocity before going straight back into another bout of seething fury. Bahimiron does not deviate a whole lot from the template set out by Scandinavian acts like early 90's Immortal and Marduk, black metal period Bathory, "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Darkthrone, and a hungover Dark Funeral after skipping a couple of showers. Inject some nods to Archgoat and early Beherit in there, and that could perhaps describe best the noxious concoction brewing here. It's raw, aggressive and certainly ugly, both music and sound mix, which is the best way no-frills underground black metal ought to be presented in my opinion.

Bahimiron shows here that creating menacing and truly evil-sounding black metal doesn't need to be complicated. This EP does not move any goalposts or re-evaluates the genre in far-fetched ways, but simply keeps proceedings raw and energetic in its delivery, to great effect. This is a competent blast of underground delight, nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

Rating: 8 out of 10