Style: Melodic Death Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal (Mixed vocals)
For fans of: Fleshgod Apocalypse, Voivod, The Black Dahlia Murder
Country: USA (Oregon)
Release date: April 17, 2026
Sometimes I just don’t know what to listen to. I’m sure you’ve faced the same problem before. You put something on, maybe a bit of Voivod , but you just don’t feel it after one or two tracks. So you switch to, I don’t know, Fleshgod Apocalypse : same problem. Eventually you think you’ll go with something tried and true, maybe The Black Dahlia Murder , but nothing fully satisfies you. Well, what if I told you that you didn’t have to decide which of these three very specific bands to listen to? Right! Because on their debut album Scarabaeus , Lividus combine the styles of all those bands and more into a uniquely refreshing cocktail, with an operatic vocal garnish.
Hey, I saw that! You just rolled your eyes at me. You say: “Good God! How on earth could the styles of the three separate bands mentioned above be fused together in any coherent way? And then operatic vocals added on top of the fusion? Absurd!”
Shaffer understands the unique strengths of Lividus , composing riffs that have their roots in melodic death metal, not entirely unlike The Black Dahlia Murder — they entangle on their own, but are tailored to work in synergy with the rest of the band’s performances. His playing is angular and melodically driven, using arpeggiated runs that are flashy and fun, but also function as bridges that let the riffs reach into different octaves, providing tonal variety and ensuring that every guitar line is placed exactly where it belongs within the section’s performance.
The abbreviated chugs and grooves are outlined by sharply accented melodic elements, enhancing the rhythmic variety and — most uniquely — adding an illusion of dynamics that is rarely achieved with such a maximalist style. Every facet of Shaffer’s guitar performance is synergistic, elevating every other facet of his own sound and that of his bandmates through a variety of texture, tonality and technique.
Plotkin is expected to make the most of Lividus‘ synergistic interplay, and her operatic vocal performance is the band’s striking signature and, by extension, its most contentious element. Patient vocal melodies stand out and anchor the dense orchestration, recalling Fleshgod Apocalypse . Rhythmic black metal growls amplify the ferocity of the heaviest sections. The operatic “oohs” and “aaahs” lend harmonic and stylistic depth to especially melancholy passages (“Sealing the Wound”, “Make No Mark”). Some may find Plotkin’s unbridled idiosyncrasy off-putting at first, but Lividus structures its compositions and performances smartly so as not to overemphasize the already bold vocal performances. Yes, Plotkin is the single sonic focal point of Scarabaeus , but that title is earned, not the result of being forced into the spotlight. Every instrumental performance is dense and interesting, never opening up to create unjustified space for the excessive vocals. Instead, each pushes the other forward, with the texture of Plotkin’s vibrato blending even into tremolo picking and blast beats, fully integrating the extreme metal aesthetic in a uniquely satisfying way.
So, does that overly specific combination of stylistic influences from earlier make a bit more sense now? What? You’ve already jumped to the score and you’re wondering why it isn’t even higher given the raves so far? you’re impatient .
Look, I wish there were more of this album. Everything is fast and dense and intricate and interesting… and there isn’t a single song that exceeds four minutes in length. With a total runtime of thirty-three minutes, Scarabaeus is over in a moment. A fun, thrilling moment, but one that ultimately leaves me somewhat unsatisfied. Lividus could easily flesh out many of their ideas, experimenting with longer song lengths or more varied tempo and structure, and they wouldn’t even have to abandon the intensity to do so. It wouldn’t even matter if the intensity dipped a little in the service of longer compositions, as long as the sharp melodic focus remained. There are many moments I wish had been explored further: the Spawn of Possession -style arpeggio riff at the two-thirds mark of “Sulphur” for example, or even the luscious atmosphere of the interlude “They Blew the Files from Their Lips Before They Spoke”. As things stand, every song is a wild exercise in density and brevity — but across a whole album, such an approach ironically leads to a sense of homogeneity.
At the end of the day, it’s telling that my main complaint about the current incarnation of Lividus comes down to “I want more”. Even so, Scarabaeus passes by without giving the listener many opportunities to recover and fully soak in each song’s unique atmosphere, resulting in a slight disappointment on my part.
Recommended tracks: Jettatori, Amphisbaena, Sulphur
You may also like: Scimitar, Scardust, Hammers of Misfortune
Final verdict: good
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Nameless Grave Records
Lividus are:
– Uta Plotkin (vocals)
– Connie Wang (bass, backing vocals)
– Rob Shaffer (guitar)
– Pierce Williams (drums)
With guests :
– Quinton Gardner (vocals on track 6)
