Scotland: a country of rolling hills and glens; forests, moorlands, and mountains. A people surrounded and enriched by a proud cultural history.

Also Scotland: bad weather, heroic levels of alcohol consumption, and a widely held intolerance of English politics and sporting teams. Also, Metal.

As a rule, the Scottish metal scene generally seems to consist of bands who either sing about ancient myths, folk tales, and history, or those driven by anger, misery, and social disadvantage; sociopolitical struggles,and a vociferous aversion to authority and government. So, without any songs about unicorns or Nessie to their name, it’s fairly obvious into which category Edinburgh act Perpetua fall.

Formed in 2013, Perpetua continue to grow and evolve apace, following up their two independently released EPs – 2016’s Resistance and 2018’s To Suffer – with full-length studio debut Resurgence (Seek and Strike Records). 

Kicking off with an almost militaristic rhythm, the introductory title track segues neatly into the album’s true opening cut. The bastard child of Stampin’ Ground and Sylosis, ‘Resolve’ is a melodic, riff-heavy monstrosity fuelled by some prominent bass work from four-stringer Jordan Burns and confrontational vocals from gravel-throated frontman Jack Gordon.

“Is there an end to the torment that you suffer?” bellows Gordon on ‘The Hell It Brings’, a pulverizing neck-wrecker that sounds like Machine Head and Killswitch Engage both waking up on the wrong side of the bed. ‘Tethered’ shows even less restraint, more than a hint of Gojira creeping into the slashing riffs and screaming solos of guitarists Andy Dickson and Nick Whyte.

The menacing chug of ‘Overcome’ brings Slayer to the party along with some more subtlety-free Gojira-isms, while although having been spotted loitering at the back since the start, ‘Human’ and ‘Trapped Mind’ see Lamb of God gatecrashing the proceedings with carefree, disruptive abandon. ‘This Is Retribution’ is an intimidating slow burn punctuated by blasts of speed and a thunderous groove while ‘Forsaken’ is a race to the finish line via the scenic route of more Killswitch-style melodies before ‘Alone In The Static’ completes the sonic assault with maximum devastation.

A savage slab of feral aggression, Resurgence wears its death metal, thrash metal, hardcore, and metalcore influences proudly on its sleeve, leaving a boot-shaped imprint on your face just in case you were left with any doubts. Just remember. Scotland is a lovely place. Just don’t piss it off. 

Buy the album here:
https://orcd.co/PerpetuaLP

7 / 10
GARY ALCOCK