SCARS OF TOMMOROW
The Horror of Realization
Victory Records
www.scarsoftomorrow.net

Producing a standout metal-core album is hard these days. It's a trendy sound. Heavy chords,
feedback, yelling interspersed with melodic breakdowns - you know the tune. Well, Scars of Tomorrow
is one of the bands that do that routine, and while "The Horror of Realization" might not be a
standout album, it is better than most albums released from bands of the same ilk.

The guitar work is interesting, the beats are tight, the screaming is energetic and powerful, but
not overpowering - "The Horror of Realization" is a decent album. It hits the ground running and
keeps on going, the sweat is pouring off these guys, and they're recording it. The 11 tracks
on "Horror" sound top-notch (produced by Matt Bayles, who has also called the sots on albums
from Mastodon, Isis and Pearl Jam) and the bass lines are thick and the earnestness if apparent,
but many of the songs sound familiar, and they all sound pretty much the same.

Plus, the lyrics read like a teenage boys diary - Nightmare, this stands in front of you, these
frames of brokenglass, of hidden images, of a time that you hope you can forget, these are the
burdens that youhide. Those lines are older than Moses. Feelings don't get old, they don't get stale
- but sometimesdelivery does. Much of what is being delivered in the songs of Scars of Tomorrow
is stale, it's beenused up and although it sounds pretty and polished, it's still old.
Listeners can pretty muchpredict when the heartbreaking breakdowns are coming, and the bloodcurdling
screams arebeing released, and the 80s hotlicks are gonna be played.

Songs like "The Constant Horror of Reality" and "The Hidden Grudge" - which features Alex from
Atreyu - are heart slamming rides on the hardcore, metal-core, nu-metal rollercoaster but they
don't stick in your gut for very long. Some of the thundering guitars and earth-shaking
drumbeats are frickin sweet, and some of the melodic breakdowns are less cheesy than other - meaning
this band has promise. It has improved on its first album "The Rope Tied to the Trigger" and put
forth a solid sophomore effort - but they have to advance and belt out something with both
heart and mind involved, before they begin to standout.

The band has gone through some lineup changes, and is currently writing new songs and
touring the UK, and maybe some of those things will end up rattling their cage and allow them
to rise to the top - but until then they have a better than average easily replaceable sound and
formula, that will definitely appeal to a lot of fans, but will not lift SCARS OF TOMMOROW off the
show listings and stand them up in the hearts of music fans.

Reviewed by : Mike Hammer