UMUR
"Nailed to Ignorance" is the fifth full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Sceptic. The album was relased through the Szataniec label in September 2022. It´s been 17 years since the release of "Internal Complexity" from December 2005 and only guitarist Jacek Hiro remains from the lineup who recorded the predecessor. But the new members of the band are actually old acquaintances, as they all performed on Sceptic´s 1999 debut full-length studio album "Blind Existence". So Sceptic are pretty much back to their original lineup on "Nailed to Ignorance" (save for guitarist Czesiek Semla, who doesn´t perform on the album).
If anything, Sceptic are remarkably consistent considering that 17 years have passed since the last release and the fact that the lineup has been almost completely altered. But investigating Sceptic´s history, major lineup changes between releases isn´t something new, and it´s obvious that as long as founding member Hiro is involved Sceptic will sound like Sceptic. Stylistically nothing much has happened in all the years since "Internal Complexity", as the music on "Nailed to Ignorance" is still technical death metal which is strongly influenced by mid-90s Death (the band). The riffs, the lead harmonies, the solos, and the screaming/snarling growling vocals all point in that direction. Add to that some well played technical drumming and we´re firmly based in the Schuldiner-school of technical death metal.
The sound prodution is clear and detailed, but lacks a bit of power. It sounds very digital recorded and lacks the warmth and meaty feeling of a well produced organic recording. When that is said "Nailed to Ignorance" is still a good quality technical death metal release and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.