Released by: Pride & Joy Music

Release Date: July 22nd, 2022

Genre: Hard Melodic Rock

Links: https://www.facebook.com/scarforlifeband

Line Up:

Alex Santos

Rob Mancini

Marc Lynn

Tracklist:

01. In Our Sights
02. Strike Down
03. Wasteland
04. Rise Again
05. Ballerina
06. Don’t Stand In My Way
07. Numb
08. Clockwork Hysteria
09. Flying High
10. Send Me An Angel
11. Walk Away
12 .Bullet To Spare

The Portuguese-led Rock-Metal band Scar For Life is back after a long hiatus, 8 years it turns out. We covered their sophomore release in 2010 titled “It All Fades Away” and decided it was a very well-done record then and one band that piqued our interest. It’s always intriguing to see what bands have to offer when they decide to make music again after such a long time.

The 5th offering now is titled “Sociophobia” and welcomes back main band founder Guitarist Alexandre Santos who started the band in 2008, as well as vocalist Rob Mancini. Lineup changes are happening here as well as Marc Lynn (GOTTHARD) plays on bass, guest musicians Tobbe Jonsson (THE LIGHTBRINGER OF SWEDEN) on drums as well as Darrel Treece-Birch (TEN) on keyboards. Would the long wait be worth it? let’s find out.

Things quickly begin with the single “Strike Down”, a speedy thifty rhythm here dominates to set the pace for the rest of the record, akin a bit to some of Mr Big latest efforts. Another good number comes via”Rise Again” which has a more commercial feel to it, nice melodic touch in the choruses, and a very straightforward groove, something different from the band. The hooking guitar solo sticks with you and has a strangely similar Thin Lizzy vibe to it. Melodic rock visions come crawling back in “Don’t Stand In My Way” which features Rob Mancini’s raspy vocals perfectly blending this nice uptempo rocker with some infectious grooves. One of the standouts on the record. The next smasher that plays through comes via an instrumental, wait what? Yes, you heard that right the instrumental number “Numb” is a pretty cool mid-pace thrasher that has a nice drum kick roll with some sprinkled keys for a nice mid-tempo churner, no vocals needed. Rob Mancini’s vocals for some reason always remind me of a mix of Ronnie Atkins and Bob Catley, something about those vocals man, just works pretty well with this project.

Another number that stands pretty cool is “Flying High”, which starts with a very tuneful entry point, and midway through the tempo just comes to a screeching halt, but somehow this tune works quite well. Melodic Rock goodness is provided via the thumper of “Send Me An Angel”, the construct here has TEN written all over it, euphony in all its essence.

One thing I’ll say is that you never really know what to expect in terms of style when it comes to Scar for Life, perhaps this is why the band for many reasons seems to stand out in its own distinctive way. The playing is very well done, Santos is always solid on the ax work, Mancini’s scratchy vocals just work so well in this project as it does remind of his work in Boneyard Dog, and the bass work of Lynn resonates with some of Gotthard‘s past works. I was pleasantly surprised with the consistency of the tracks given the absence of music, but not surprised one bit at the quality. Another one to surely check out ladies and gents.

Written by: Shadow Editor