Following hot on the heels of their split EP with label mates Garota (2024’s Czerń Północy), Poland’s barbaric blackened thrashers Scrüda land a knockout blow with their debut album. Featuring ten tracks that blend various forms of extreme metal into one earthshaking sound, Fury Among Ruins is an album that redefines the boundaries of what heavy music can be…and all within eighteen furious minutes! Violent, vitriolic and unrepentant, Scrüda have set the standard for others who follow.
Formed in Gdańsk in 2021, Scrüda immediately started to create waves with their eight song demo tape, Barbarian State Of Mind. It caught the attention of Polish label Godz ov War Productions, and since then the band have been going from strength to strength, feeding off their own frenetic energy. The operative word here is “frenetic”: Scrüda are like a tight ball of fury and one that emits sparks of static. To my knowledge, they are yet to release a song over three minutes in length and that should tell you a lot about their modus operandi. They don’t use two notes when one will suffice and are like the ultimate editors, shaving off a note here, a blast beat there, until all that is left is pure, unadulterated metal. It’s 100% proof and as such should really come with some “avoid naked flames” type health warning. Subsequently, Scrüda have no time for fancy, elongated introductions and opening song ‘Philosophy’ lands like a surprise punch between the eyes. It’s all the more powerful for its sudden arrival and leaves the listener feeling battered and bruised.
Scrüda might deal exclusively in the heavy stuff, but don’t make the mistake of branding them as generic; there’s plenty of variety in their arsenal and the riff on which ‘Lone Duelist’ rolls is pure doom mastery, whilst that which heralds the arrival of ‘Ape From Hell’ could quite easily swing with Black Sabbath (and possibly win). However, it’s the extremities of metal where this band exist and songs such as the sublime ‘Hellfire Glow’ burn brightly, but briefly, not unlike the flame on the end of a match. Bursting at the seams with great ideas, Scrüda have packed more into the sixty seconds that comprise ‘Swords’ than most bands put into an entire career.
‘When A World Ended’ brings the album to a crushing conclusion, but I have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more from Scrüda.
- Fury Among Ruins is released via Godz ov War Productions and is available now (from here).
- Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Track List:
- Philosophy
- Lone Duelist
- Ape From Hell
- Hellfire Glow
- Kill
- Swords
- Frozen Heart
- Bonded By Hate
- Vile Alliance
- When A World Ended
