New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Classic and Progressive Rock

Scarecrow II Review

Scarecrow II ReviewScarecrow hail from Perm in Russia. I reviewed their debut album here and liked it plenty. Now the band hit us with the follow-up, Scarecrow II.

Whilst the debut was good, they’ve gone through the gears and come up with a stunning album of heavy bluesy/doomy style music which sounds like 1970s Black Sabbath or Budgie.

The riffs are brutal, heavy and crunching. As biting as any Tony Iommi or Tony Bourge came up with. The solos too are not dissimilar. Quite spectacular.

The vocals hit the high notes rather like a Burke Shelley or a Geddy Lee and there’s a huge rhythm section too.

All very powerful, very heavy. And vocalist Artemis chips in with a spot of harmonica and flute to give an extra edge to things.

An instrumental starts it off – the Endless Ocean Overture. Gentle start before it kicks off in to that crunching heaviness. It’s a bit spooky in parts. Quite moody even. A fine scene-setter.

Blizzard, Magic Flower and Spirit Seducer each as heavy as you like. It’s like going back to the 1970s – and I mean that in a good way. For example have a listen to Spirit Seducer:

All the Sabbath/Budgie/early Rush influences are there throughout and it’s a monster, monster heaviness assault.

The eight minutes of The Moors flashes by as the band flex their muscles further. The Mushroom Wizard gloriously retro as is the Golden Times before another mini-epic and seven minutes of the Endless Ocean see things out in breathless style.

It’s relentless from start to finish. A proper battering ram of darkly brooding retro-style heaviness with all those nods back to the 1970s making it, in my opinion, a bit special.

If, like me, you grew up listening to Sabbath, Budgie, Rush etc. and still do then Scarecrow will hit the spot. Or for anyone who is in to their heavy, bluesy stuff – the same applies.

Check out Scarecrows Bandcamp page for various versions (digital, CD etc.) and also their debut album. Here’s the link:
https://scarecrow-official.bandcamp.com/album/scarecrow-ii