Band:	Bomb Scare Crew
Album:	Reign Of The Sharks
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	2005
A review by:	wrathchild

01. Payback Time
02. Recidivist
03. Crewsader
04. The Flag
05. Mum Is A Whore
06. Gnawed By Pain
07. No Man's Land
08. Bomb Scare Crew
09. Why
10. Humiliation
11. Reign Of The Sharks

Disclaimer: This band is not really power, not really thrash, and not really metalcore. Though for some reasons, the genre that is associated with such music is Power/Thrash/Metalcore. Note that the band uses Power/Thrash.


After their first self-produced album went sold out, Bomb Scare Crew is pleased to let you know that it was fully remastered and is now available on the label Musicast. A boosted production is always welcome when you want your music to have a more devastating impact on the listener.

But the first real impression I got was from their very bandname: Bomb Scare Crew. I generally don't like everything ending in "Crew" for it does sound rappish and hardcorish to me (and yes, I'm close-minded enough to dislike those musics). Then, taking the name as a whole along with the artwork made me think I was about to face a band created to protest against social stuff, you know like wanting to go to war to have a better foodstore nextdoor.

Hopefully, I was wrong! At least, I can say I wasn't right. The band does use a not very politically correct language and the singer does sound a bit like a hardcore singer, but not to the extent that I would dislike them. Bomb Scare Crew offers some really powerful riffs, some good leads, and above all a sort of oppressing atmosphere which perfectly fits their image.
Now, there's one thing that could be improved, and would really need to be improved a lot: the vocals. I have to admit that I'm not fond of this singing style, but there are other factors that make me say that. For example, there are too many undecipherable vocals. There are some instrumental passages on every song, but when we're in the middle of a verse, the flow is just too monotonous and is a bit buried in the music. To give you an idea, I completely missed that the song "Mum Is A Whore" is in French! I don't know if the singer's voice is natural or atificially distorted, but something must be done so that the vocal production matches the music production.

Ironically, the track I like the least is "Bomb Scare Crew" while my favorite would probably be "Crewsader" with its opening solo and catchy riffs, a more dynamic song. That's also the other reproach about the album: The last songs are not the fastest, giving you the feeling it's getting boring... though not bad.

Bomb Scare Crew still needs to find a better alchemy, though this "Reign Of The Sharks" clearly shows that they have the potential to find it. Still, this album is a great debut.