Runescarred are a Heavy Metal band from Austin, Texas, USA, the band consists of Ven Scott – Vocals, Tim Driscoll – Lead Guitar, Payton Holekamp – Drums, Josh Robins – Bass and Skunk Manhattan – Lead Guitar.



Over the last few years, I have been following Runescarred very closely, ever since I did a review for their EP We Are. When they released that EP, I was OK, What have you got for me this time? So, when I put the album on a few weeks back, as I was putting my radio show together, I was thinking, OK, I am liking what I am hearing. As I got further into the album, I was totally rocking out to it, as it has elements of Thrash Metal on some of the songs, and on some of the tracks, they have done some Acoustic guitar work.

The track listing: Hexit, Inviting Rivers, Minor Progressions, Swallow Your Tail, Legionem Eclipsem, Twisting Flesh, This Distant Infinite, Sorrow Is, Poison Oasis and Mammoth.

The first two tracks is Hexit and Inviting Rivers, a few weeks back I played Hexit and Inviting Rivers as a Double Shot on the Project Metal Across The Pond radio show, and when I told the band that I was playing the two songs they said to me that they are the more Thrashy songs off the album and I could tell, as I am a huge Thrash Metal fan, on both tracks I love the drums, as they are fast, relentless and brutal, the guitars are brilliant and the riffs are off the chart. and the vocals are brilliant.

Minor Progressions is up next, now this track is in a similar vain as the first two tracks, especially with the brutal drums, that will turn your brain into mush by the end of the track, the guitars are really good, as the track has some awesome riffs and shredding, the vocals again are really good.

Swallow Your Tail is next and this song is downright heavy, this song will punch you in the chest, rip out heart, throw it on the ground, dance on it and put it back into your chest in a good way, the reason is that the drums are absolutely brilliant and thunderous, and coupled that with the bass, my gods, they will pummel your brain, and the guitars on this song will seriously melt your face off, as there are some amazing riffs and shreds littered throughout the song and again the vocals are on point.

Legionem Eclipsem is next, my gods, when I seriously thought that Runescarred would dial it down a bit from the last song, they come back with this song, which will make your brain explode with its intensity of everything that the band can throw at you. Twisting Flesh is next, now thankfully, the band did dial it back slightly with the intensity, but the song is intense, with the drums and guitars, and Ven’s vocals are superb on this, and as I listened to the song again, I really like the guitars on this, as they help drive the song along and there is some brilliant riffs, the drums are brilliant.

Up next is the titled track, This Distant Infinite, OK, this is the shortest song off the album coming in at just under two minutes, from the start, there is a piano accompaniment throughout the song and the guitars are very soulful, which works really well with the piano arrangement. Up next is Sorrow Is, this song is not as musically intense as some of the other songs, as the guitars are acoustic, with other string arrangement in support, Ven’s vocals are brilliant on this as they are filled with a lot of emotion.

Poison Oasis is next, and back to the heaviness with the electric guitars and drums on this song, I like the work of the drums and guitars on this, as they work really well together, plus there is some some riffs and shredding from the guitars, the drums are on point, and the vocals are good. Mammoth is the last track off the album, this is a brilliant outro track, as it has some amazing heavy guitars, I have come to expect the drums to be tremendously thunderous and they were, and Ven’s vocals are on point, this song has to be one of my favourite tracks off the album, as it has some really good riffs on it.

Well, what can I say, Runescarred have produced a brilliant album here. The Distant Infinite is a must listen to album, and if you are a discerning Metal Head, you need this album in your collection. So, if you are into the Heavy Metal genre and/or wanting to listen to a new music or to aband that you haven’t heard before, then I would highly recommend that you go and check Runescarred out on their Facebook page.

I would give Runescarred and their The Distant Infinite album a 5 out of 5 for tremendously brutal album.

Project Metal Music