Soulscar
Victim Impact Statement

February 2005
Released: 2004, Galy
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: JP

Oh no! Major disappointment! Andrew, the driving force of the band has hired/recruited two new, younger guys into the band and man, what a let down. After the awesome ‘Abandoned’ and ‘Character Assassination’, the band takes a big step backward. The first two CD’s each got a four out of five on this site but I’m not sure what the fans will say when they get a hold of this.



The problem? Too many modern (bad) influences. Suddenly a whiny, angst ridden clean vocal permeates most of the songs bringing a much unwanted and unneeded dimension to the songs. The arrangements have suffered as well. Now the songs have a far more (hate to say it) metalcore or mallcore influence. Eg. Shout and yell, simplistic riff, riff, riff, breakdown, slow part, whine in clean vocal, go back to beginning, repeat. The band has been listening to too much In Flames, too much Soilwork, (and obviously countless crappy bands on Roadrunner ) it’s just not as good.



The riffs are still generally good, the gruff vocal is still good, but everything overall has taken a slight turn for the worse, not awful, just not as good as before. The lyrics aren’t as good either. This time they seem more about complaining than anger. Many of the lyrics are about girls and love, which is always a huge danger. OK, maybe your had your heart broken since the last CD. Write one (maybe two) decent ballads, get on with it and fill up the other 8-10 songs on the CD with songs of anger, hatred, fire and revenge! Even the album title is more passive and weak compared to the last one.



It’s a shame because everything seemed to be going well for the band; some good exposure, a nice new CD that is well laid out, it looks good, sounds good but ‘Victim Impact Statement’ just can’t match the quality Megadeth/Annihilator inspired fire of the previous releases.