Scars of Tomorrow

The Horror of Realization (2005)

elliot

The metalcore trend has really been hopping for a couple years now, and rightfully so, there's been a backlash against it. People are pissed off about shitty bands that have no metal influences from earlier than 2001 and are just riding the coattails of much better bands clearing the path for them. Out of this huge sea of bands, there are a few that actually rise above the crap, and write some amazing music, doing it their own way.

Whoops, Scars of Tomorrow is not one of these bands! They're actually terrible. I mean, let's take a look at their name. Has their ever been a band name that has left you feeling more apathetic than that? Unfortunately, that's just the beginning. Their new album, The Horror of Realization, is one of the most useless metalcore albums in recent memory, torturing the listener with uninspired breakdowns, riffs that sound like they were written by a retarded cousin of Taproot, and crappy vocals from a fat guy who sounds way too much like a fat guy.

Eleven songs of mediocre metal are very hard to take. Oh wait, that's actually eight songs, because three of these tracks are useless, filler instrumentals that don't do a goddamn thing. But even listening to eight Scars of Tomorrow songs is a complete waste of time. Only the first song, "The Constant Horror of Reality," has some passable songwriting. From then on, it's just boring part after boring part, inspiring you to contemplate what supplies you'll be buying at Office Depot later today. And just when you think it can't get any more disgusting, Atreyu front-man Alex Varkatzas wanders in and vocally throws up all over "The Hidden Grudge."

The main thing that really gets me about this album is how painfully serious it is. A band like Bury Your Dead can only barely get away with copping nü-metal riffs because they do it with some tongue-in-cheek bravado. Scars of Tomorrow have no such bravado, or any kind of a personality at all. Everything about them is obviously meant to be taken so seriously that the whole deal ends up being laughable and shitty. It results in them being probably the worst metalcore band on Victory Records, just behind their apparent brothers in crap, Atreyu.