Scarlxrd — DeadRising — Album Review
Hardcore | Hip-Hop | Rap | Industrial
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Out of the many artists I have discovered in the year of 2021, very few have gotten my attention and enjoyment quite like Scarlxrd, the musical alias of British rapper Marius Lucas Antonio Listhrop.
When I saw some of my friends return from his set at Reading Festival, almost dying from short breath, I knew I had missed out on something special. This realisation became even more glaring upon fully discovering his music earlier this year.
This was primarily thanks to the release of his earlier 2021 project Dxxm II, which saw an unrelenting presentation of Sacrlxrd’s phenomenal fusion of hardcore and hip-hop. It was a truly gritty aesthetic that somebody like me can fully get behind. The way that its overall edginess and intensity gripped me, was something I haven’t quite felt since my teenage years. With that said, Scarlxrd instantly set himself up as a prominent musical figure in my mind.
Throughout the rest of 2021, I felt that I have only enjoyed Dxxm II more and more. And while Scarlxrd had more than enough of a right to call it a year, he is one of those artists that has an insane amount of productivity under his belt. A great example of this, would have to be the fact that we now have a brand new album; his second one of 2021. This album has been given the title of DeadRising.
This is far from simply a few picking from the bottom of Dxxm II’s barrel either; it is an entirely new album, and a generous one of that. DeadRising carries a whopping 21 tracks, and has a runtime of just over 50 minutes. In comparison to Dxxm II, this album is almost equal in runtime, and exactly so in its amount of tracks.
As a result, my main worry was that DeadRising may perhaps be a little too similar to the album that preceding it. And while that isn’t entirely off, this album still has enough tricks up its sleeve to be just as engaging. There have been past projects from Scarlxrd that have leaned more heavily to the Hip-Hop side of things, particularly outside of the Dxxm series. However, DeadRising is just as equal in that hardcore-esque intensity, and at a stretch, may even be even more so.
But in addition to this, there are a few more electronic elements that work to up the surreal atmosphere that this album has. Paired with the borderline-satanic imagery that this album paints, I feel that it work incredibly well.
Scarlxrd’s throat-burning vocals don’t seem to be burning out at all either. Especially when listening to a project like DeadRising, I honestly don’t know how he hasn’t lost the ability to talk yet.
I feel like it is certainly safe to say that Scarlxrd has once again knocked it out of the park with DeadRising, an album that I already praise just as equally as the great Dxxm II. It’s going to be a very tough choice narrowing down which of those albums I prefer for my end of year list; it may just have to remain a tie, to be honest.
Favourite Tracks: Lxuder | Cxffins | XmniMan
Least Favourite Track: Anti Prxgress
LXRD RECORDS
Enjoyment: 9/10 | Memorability: 8/10 | Atmosphere: 8/10
Uniqueness: 8/10 | Satisfaction: 8/10 | Narrative: 7/10
