Single Review: Tormenta – Tattooed Scars

The UK is vibrant with up and coming bands that are still being unheard by the general metal fan. Some of these bands deserve recognition for trying something different and having the ability to write songs that get you off your ass and mosh your ass off in your bedroom/venue or club. One such band is sextet Tormenta from Leeds who like to infuse groove into their songs and have hit the scene with a bang. Tormenta do not play straight forward metal but instead infuse metalcore, elements of death metal and electronica into their music which is certainly something different and something to stand out of a saturated scene. But is the track “Tattooed Scars “any good?

The easy answer to that is yes and I have already had the song and accompanying video repeated listens primarily for the fact that its different, unique and above all very very catchy. The song “Tattooed Scars” tells of a young lady struggling with self harm and mental health issues and is matched with music that resembles the tragedy of these issues.

The song starts off very dark with a deep heavy riffs from John and Phoenix backed by electronics before the song takes a surprising turn with growling vocals from Joe. These are deep, coherent growls and in the blink of an eye, Joe can change the growls to the more harsh vocal style. You would think this is a more death metal track but before the minute mark, Robin comes in with his clean vocal style and adds a completely different dimension to the track mixed with a more nu metal riffing style, Tormenta know how to construct songs without losing the listeners attention.

Backed by bassist Donna and drummer Dec, they provide a very strong platform allowing the band to play with class and strong musicianship. Highlight of the track for me though is undoubtedly the breakdown at 2:20 backed with electronics and is something I would encourage the band to do more as it is certainly for me the standout section of the track and will certainly get the venue moving in the live front. Overall, this is a very cool track from a promising band that have only just got together and on this showing, things are only going to look up for Tormenta.

For those intrigued to find out more about Tormenta, they have more than a hint of Il Nino and Korn but also add some metalcore influences with almost death metal leanings. The electronics and clear vocal style reminds me of a heavier Enter Shikari, so as you can see they have a multitude of influences in their music. The attached video was produced with zero budget and along with adding various mental health helplines at the end of the video, Tormenta add a nice touch to this promising single. Good luck with the follow up.

Tattooed Scars is out now.

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