Review: Scardust – Souls

Style: Symphonic metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Nightwish, Epica, Orphaned Land, Myrath, Dream Theater, Symphony X
Country: Israel
Release date: 18 July 2025
Symphonic metal takes up a lot of space. I mean that as a compliment: the genre is aurally packed wall-to-wall with sweeping orchestras, grand choral arrangements, and shredding, heavy riffs. Sure, it can be campy, corny, overwrought—but for those who like their music larger than life, symphonic metal just hits different. I fell for it hard as a tween, when I nurtured a severe Nightwish obsession that gradually bloomed into an appreciation for the genre as a whole. Years later, in 2017, I stumbled across Sands of Time, the debut full-length album by Israeli five-piece Scardust. The band’s audacious reimagination of the symphonic metal playbook earned them a spot in my rotation that has endured to this day.
Unlike scores of bands who take the approach of copying Nightwish or Epica’s homework and changing a few details so they don’t get caught (or not), Scardust have an unmistakable trademark sound. They take pride in the technical skill of each band member, weaving ample showmanship into Mediterranean-and Middle Eastern-influenced compositions that often nestle bass or guitar solos alongside sprawling orchestral and choral arrangements which are—for my money—more thoughtfully and creatively architected than most in the genre. Scardust’s ambition has never dipped, but can their third album, Souls, keep up the momentum?
Um, maybe a bit too much. Scardust’s previous albums each opened with instrumental and choral overtures that elegantly set the stage for what was to come. By contrast, the number of different musicians introduced in the opening minutes of Souls makes me think of kids on a school trip, rushing to take a group photo before they get back on the bus. The orchestra and the magniloquent Hellscore choir—directed by Scardust frontwoman Noa Gruman—are there, as expected, but the rest of the band muscles in quickly, squeezing in bass and guitar solos in under four and a half minutes. And, soaring over it all is Gruman herself, with dizzyingly acrobatic vocal manoeuvres coloured by a timbre so polished that it almost seems shellacked. It’s all happening, all at once, and the momentum doesn’t let up. By the time Souls’ third track, “RIP”, rips out of the gates with Gruman growling over frenetic backing from the band and choir, I wish the whole ensemble would simply stop and take a deep breath. Mercifully, they do. Softer interludes on this track and scattered across the album’s forty-minute runtime bring relief, but Scardust never stop giving a hundred and fifty percent.
At the heart of Scardust’s unstoppable force is Noa Gruman, whose skill as a vocalist is unquestionably dazzling. Her range spans many octaves and styles—from whistle register to growls. In particular, her harsh vocals have improved significantly since the band’s earlier albums. They’re crisp, ferocious, and impressively enunciated. However, there’s one critical lesson that Gruman appears to have not yet learned, and it’s that less is sometimes more. Just because you can hit a laser-precise E♭6, growl like a bog monster, and belt like Floor Jansen, doesn’t mean you should do all of those things in a single breath (as at the end of “My Haven”). Moments of restraint could allow her remarkable technique to feel more emotionally resonant, and give the listener space to breathe. A true frontwoman, Gruman clearly commands the spotlight, but the other band members revel in their moments of explosive flair, whether it’s Yoav Weinberg’s thrillingly athletic drumming in “Long Forgotten Song” or Aaron Friedland’s zingy keys in the opening of “Touch Of Life III – King Of Insanity”.
In Souls’ already crowded milieu, the album’s guest contributors have their work cut out for them to find space. Ally Storch of Subway to Sally adds some impressive violin gymnastics to “Searing Echoes”, but her interludes feel pasted in rather than smoothly integrated, a shame on an already bloated track. Meanwhile, Haken’s Ross Jennings struggles to go toe-to-toe with Gruman in the three-part “Touch of Life” suite that closes the album. Gruman’s vocals demand a similarly bombastic duet partner1, but Jennings’ unique vocal tone makes for a rather lopsided pairing. Later in the suite, when he sings solo, the effect improves considerably.
Scardust’s energy and intensity are higher than ever. But is it too much? My main gripe with Souls is that the band appears to have taken a formula that was already a lot and pushed forward in places where I want them to pull back. I don’t need them to get the jump on every big moment before I expect it, to dial everything up to eleven. Still, Souls sometimes captures that mesmerizing momentum from past albums without collapsing under its own ambition. “Dazzling Darkness” builds with refreshing subtlety, and closer “Touch of Life III – King of Insanity” cleverly reprises motifs from 2017’s Sands of Time. Both tracks’ scurrying melodic modulations showcase the band at their irrepressibly catchy best.
You’ll always know a Scardust song when you hear one. In the oversaturated symphonic metal landscape, originality and daring ambition count for a lot. But Souls sees the group leaning further into maximalist tendencies which tread a fine line between awe-inspiring and overwhelming. I don’t expect Scardust to ever rein themselves in. But next time, I hope they’ll trust that giving it a hundred percent is already enough.
Recommended tracks: Dazzling Darkness, Touch Of Life III – King Of Insanity
You may also like: Master Sword, Delta
Final verdict: 6/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives
Label: Frontiers Music – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website
Scardust is:
– Noa Gruman (vocals)
– Gal Gabriel Israel (guitar)
– Aaron Friedland (keyboards)
– Orr Didi (bass)
– Yoav Weinberg (drums)
With guests:
– TLV Orchestra
– Ally Storch (violin)
– Ross Jennings (vocals)
- For example, Orphaned Land vocalist Kobi Farhi paired well with Gruman in his guest appearance on Sands of Time. ↩︎
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