Ramat Gat is located in the Tel Aviv district of Israel; it is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Home to the Diamond Exchange District, high-tech industries, and the Sheba Medical Center. The term Ramat Gan in Hebrew means “Garden Heights”. Now despite what has been going on since the events that occurred on October 7th, 2023, you can’t deny the music that’s been unleashed in the land of Israel.
There are some that I am familiar with; Orphaned Land, Ninet Tayeb (her collaboration with Steven Wilson), Aviv Geffen (Blackfield), Marbin, and Aperco. But one band that are carrying the flaming swords of symphonic metal like a volcano, ready to erupt at any second that have been around since their formation in 2013. That band is Scardust.
Originally starting out as a duo project under the name “Somnia”, lyricist / songwriter Orr Didi and vocalist Noa Gruman were originally were going to write this rock opera entitle Gates of Dawn, but instead put a band together which included guitarist Yadin Moyal, bassist Yanai Avnet, keyboardist Lior Goldberg, and drummer Yoav Weinberg who unearthed an EP ten years ago titled Shadow. That same year, they changed their name to Scardust, and the rest as they say is history.
Two albums in, Scardust is quite a revelation when it comes symphonic and classical music, mixed in with powerful riffs, metallic forces, and elements of Edenbridge, Within Temptation, and Nightwish. You can’t go wrong with that. Their latest release on the Frontiers label is entitled Souls.
I had absolutely no idea on what to expect when I put this album on my iPod Touch as I was taken to a whole other world which brings to mind the surrealism, intense powder-kegs, and the adventurous plot that’s about to unfold as the album opens up with the firing wonders on the ‘Long Forgotten Song’. It feels like a continuation of ‘Caged’ as Noa captures the spirit of Sharon Den Adel in her vocals as she climbs upwards to the mountains to discover her true inner self with the rhythm section following her in hot pursuit.
But it’s the thunder behind ‘My Haven’ in which Noa goes into her beauty and the beast vocal lines between the clean, harsh, and operatic vocal arrangements that makes her soar through the clouds and discover where she sits on the throne, knowing that she has an uphill battle to confront the demons that haunt this castle. And we ain’t talking about Masters of the Universe, we’re talking about continuing the story of Taarna from the 1981 cult classic heavy metal.
Once the death symphonic approaches come out of the wood works, you know that Scardust aren’t just a “Pretty” band, but giving metal its electronic juice in which it needs, and its unexpected time changes. From the moment ‘RIP’ begins you feel as if you, as a listener are in the battlefield as Noa challenges Orr with his incredible bass work, followed by Gal’s skull-crunching riffs, and Weinberg’s machine-gun blast drum pedals.
Then, we enter the ‘Unreachable’ atmosphere with its Celtic folk turned Arabic-like roots as the TLV Orchestra (The Arab-Jewish Orchestra), a unique ensemble of young musicians lending Scardust a helping hand with the choir to lead the charge to its epic atmosphere, waiting for a sign of peace in the middle of this war zone that’s been going on. You can hear the possibilities of Baris Manco, Diablo Swing Orchestra, and Gentle Giant flowing into space as Gal reaches upwards to the mountains, crying out to the gods, and pouring his heart into his instrument.
The band take a breather as we reach the ‘End of the World’ with its Tchaikovsky-sque texture before segueing into the territories of Haken’s ‘Nocturnal Conspiracy’ as they tip their hats to the majestic prog heroes on ‘Searing Echoes’ with its hypnotic turned slithering approach before the grand finale on the three-part suite ‘Touch of Life’.
With Ross Jennings lending a helping hand behind ‘In Your Eyes’, the band get more complex as the driven forces starts to combine as one. They still carry the symphonic approach with its roller-coaster arrangements in the rhythm section, knowing the uphill battle has only just begun.
And then on the ‘Dance of Creativity’ Scardust channel the wonders of Moorea Dickason and her old band MoeTar and a harder approach of Gentle Giant, thrown into the blender. How proggy can you get? Ultimate hardcore prog to the finish line with operatic vocals, odd time changes, and yes, more nods to Edenbridge. That is how you know your source material and staying true to form.
Finally, on the ‘King of Insanity’, this is where the electrical juice goes into this hay-wiring effect. Ross comes back into the forefront once more as Noa returns to her cookie-monster vocals as if she’s unleashing hell onto the world with a mighty roar. This is the duet that is needed and all of the attitude and structure Scardust has given listeners to unbelievable results, ready to reign terror and storm-setting atmospheres, waiting for you to discover.
