New York City has always been recognized as one of the most diverse collections of people, cultures, sights and sounds in the world. This so-called "melting pot" has been home to some of the greatest artistic achievements of the twentieth century, particularly in the musical arena. The great city swung to jazz in the 50s and 60s, then spiked its hair and donned studded black leather jackets amidst the punk revolution of the 1970s. Subsequently, the 1980s saw the birth of a distinctly New York take on the bourgeoning sounds of metal and hardcore.

Many years later, in the fall of 1997, the "city that never sleeps" was jolted by the sound of an up-and-coming Brooklyn-based band called Scrape (who have since changed their name to Scar Culture). This sound is described, in a most general way, by AntiMTV.com as an amalgamation of "the technical skill of death metal, the brutality of grindcore and the groove of hardcore." The band, itself a cultural blend of Indian, Russian and American backgrounds, has learned much from the diverse sounds of the City and, in turn, has given back in the form of countless live performances (including performances alongside Brutal Truth, Soilent Green and Hypocrisy, among others) and the release of their debut album, Inscribe.

Produced by S.O.D./M.O.D. frontman Billy Milano, Inscribe was recorded at Milano's own Blue Meenie studios in Hoboken, New Jersey (recording home of Agnostic Front, Vision of Disorder, Voivod, Sick Of It All, S.O.D., etc.). Upon first hearing the-band-that-would-become-Scar-Culture, Milano could muster only two words: "Fucking brutal."

Scar Culture frontman Pheroze Karai returns the respect: "We chose [Milano] because he's the real deal. He'll only work with you if he believes in what you're doing. He had never worked with a band like us, so we both welcomed the challenge of making worlds meet and it turned out amazing."

Inscribe reveals the band's inclination toward the merging of all forms of heaviness, including brutally relentless grind/thrash and violent, pit-inducing breakdowns. Karai's intensely demonic vocal exorcisms are sadistically complimented by the devastating riffage of guitarist John Conley. These sounds all revolve around the low-end attack of the band's newest member, Frank Cannino, and the technically mind-blowing percussive madness of Duke Borisov.

Scar Culture has already accumulated a ferocious reputation through the independent release of a four-song demo in the Spring of 1998, festival performances at the Milwaukee and New Jersey Metal Fests and some impressive media attention. Upon hearing the demo, Metal Maniacs praised Scar Culture for its embodiment of the underground music scene's "bruising, grinding, death metal bowels." A review in Delirium describes the demo as "a stomp heavy, in-your-face, incessant howl of metal mastery."

Scar Culture - as a band and a sound - is indicative of some of the best qualities of the city they call home. As a band, Scar Culture succeeds in the marriage of culturally different backgrounds working toward the common goal of artistic expression through each member's exotic, creative flair. As a sound, the mixture of DIY punk spirit, unabashed metallic fury and hardcore-flavored sensibility propel Scar Culture in to that most extraordinary musical category in which a band's sound cannot easily be described, their influences not blatantly obvious or their style not comparable to the bands with which we're all already too familiar.