Review | Scardust – Souls

Frontiers Music Srl.

The ascent of Scardust through the progressive and symphonic metal ranks is meteoric, with each release raising the stakes for themselves and their peers. `Souls’, their brand-new opus, arrives with the weight of expectation: after the genre-bending ambition of `Strangers’, the Israeli collective faces the challenge of outdoing themselves. And this comes as quite the challenge, not just in technical prowess but in songwriting substance and musical construct of the songs predominantly. Are they able to deliver?

THE EMOTIONAL AND TECHNICAL CENTERPIECE

From the opening bars, `Souls’ radiates the trademark Scardust blend of orchestral grandeur and progressive intricacy. The musicianship is impeccable. Only a handful of bands in the scene can boast such a close and wonderful interplay between symphonic bombast and metallic riffage. Especially the guitar gymnastics of Gal Gabriel Israel are nothing short of perfect. Noa Gruman’s vocals remain the band’s emotional and technical centerpiece, her range and power as jaw-dropping as ever. She glides from operatic flourishes to gritty rock, even dipping into harsher textures, all with a theatrical melancholy that commands attention.

As the album unfolds, a nagging sense of déjà vu creeps in with me. Scardust’s preference for maximalism and pompous grandeur threatens to overwhelm. Layer upon layer of choirs, strings, and shifting time signatures burry the memorable hooks. Where `Strangers’ balanced its conceptual weight with insane hooks and dynamic pacing, `Souls’ sometimes feels like it’s spurting to outdo itself constantly. The result is a record that dazzles in moments but struggles to let its best ideas breathe.

THE ACHILLES’ HEEL

,,Long Forgotten Song” is impressively dynamic but stands as the best example for their distorted vision. Too much, too fast. All the wonderful melodies presented get lost in the sea of progressive twists and turns. 

The album’s construction is both its greatest strength and its Achilles’ heel. Tracks burst with ideas: Yoav Weinberg’s impressive polyrhythmic drumming and powerful double bass executions, Orr Didi’s acrobatic bass lines, and Gal’s intricate guitar work veer from melodic to outright flamboyant. But too often, songs seem built to impress rather than to connect. The hooks, while present, are buried beneath layers of technical wizardry, a decision that, while sure to thrill the prog metallers alike, risks alienating listeners yearning for a more direct emotional hit. `Souls’, in all its prestigious power, feels occasionally like a mismatch with itself.

,,My Haven” is a great track smothered by its bombast. It will certainly appeal to a lot of fans of the genre, but many will also steer clear, despite the wonderful guitar work and gearing bass ‘n drum interaction.   

THREE-PIECE SONG

The Israeli roots of Scardust roots continue to lend their music a unique flavor, with folk inflections and a certain theatricality that sets them apart from their European and American counterparts. It impresses still and maintains doing so. Some of the scales dropping in ,,RIP” sink in differently, wonderful. The stacked layers however smother the song’s overarching wonderful melodies and themes. Refraining from the laden structures, the cinematic ‘dancing’ ,,Dazzling Darkness” and the wonderful (point) ,,Unreachable” display the abilities of Scardust to create. Still heavily packed in layered textures, the songs reveal the melodic mastery with the hooks dominantly featured.

Yet, this time, the band’s lyrical themes, sometimes heavy-handed, come dangerously close to self-parody. `Souls’ aims to be profound, but its narrative ambition sometimes tips the balance.

,,Searing Echoes” again is densely packed, with Noa’s vocals pitched angelic. Narrating and switching high pitched, she meanders through the dense sonic landscape. Notes fired with dazzling ferocity; the guitars make the difference during the instrumental sections. The gloom is there, this contrast centres around the cinematics. The repetitive construct with pumped up choirs and progressive time signature and tempo-changes kill the essence.

The three-piece ,,Touch of Life” depletes the lyrical content with a run of musical ideas stacked, saving the day. The 3 interconnected tracks stand bold with musical extravagance and reveal the band’s creative skills. Open and transparent, part I, ,,In Your Eyes” features and impressive duet section with the song stripped down to its essence. Fluently meandering into the subtle ,,Dance of Creation” the 3-piece gains momentum. Noa’s angelic vocal delivery is absolutely heart-warming. 1 minute in the ominous gloom takes over and the tracks morph progressive.

Not densely packed, breathing lustre into the soul of the song, it ‘dances’ with jazzy accolades and hits its apocalyptic closing chapter 3, ,,King of Insanity” which sears on the burning riffs and sizzling keyboard interplay. The heavy grunts and psychotic vocal delivery add to the experience, with the song gaining momentum. Packing all the band’s key features, it highlights exactly where `Souls’ could have landed in the creative realm.

SCARDUST – THE CONCLUSION

Jens Bogren’s mastering is once again a talking point, for better and worse. The mix is clear, the instruments distinct, but the loudness war rears its ugly head. The song’s dynamic range is sacrificed for impact, and some of the album’s more delicate moments are lost in the sonic crush. It’s a shame, as the band’s arrangements cry out for space and subtlety, something the current production only intermittently delivers.

`Souls’ is, without question, a technical tour de force. Scardust continue to set the bar for musicianship in modern symphonic/progressive metal, and their willingness to push boundaries is admirable. But in their quest for grandeur, they sometimes lose sight of the power of restraint. The album is a feast for the ears, but one that leaves you wishing for a few more moments of silence between the courses, like on the closing chapters ,,Touch of Life”. Remaining a vital force, and `Souls’ will no doubt thrill their devoted fanbase and win new converts among those who crave complexity and drama in their metal. But for all its brilliance, the album serves as a reminder: sometimes, less truly is more. Don’t get me wrong, `Souls’ sticks with me and landed deep, It’s just…. Well, I expected more… or maybe; less!

Listen in, and change my thoughts!

Release date: 18 July 2025