When I was first asked to take a look at Too Scarred To Resist, Too Scared To Exist by Martre, the words I was given were: “Danish experimental Black Metal.” And let me tell you — they weren’t fucking lying. With the emphasis very much on experimental.
This EP doesn’t just dabble in the edges of Black Metal’s boundaries — it rips them up, sets fire to them, and dances in the ashes. From the first twisted sound that bleeds through the speakers, you know you’re not in for a safe, comfortable ride. This is a record designed to challenge you, to drag you out of your comfort zone and hurl you headlong into a hellish nightmare of warped textures, feral vocal delivery, and beats that refuse to stay pinned down. One minute you’re getting blasted into oblivion, the next you’re thrown into something damn near funky — and somehow it all works.
The vocals deserve a special mention here. They aren’t just layered over the music as an afterthought; they’re used as a weapon. Every scream, howl, and guttural phrase is woven into the fabric of the sound, cutting and slicing like another instrument entirely. It gives the EP a suffocating intensity, as though Martre are less interested in entertaining you and more interested in confronting you — in the best way possible.
What makes this EP stand out is its sheer audacity. It takes guts to play with Black Metal’s core elements and twist them into something so alien yet still recognisably tied to the genre’s spirit. But Martre pull it off with absolute conviction. The riffs, the drum patterns, the unconventional structures — none of it feels half-baked or gimmicky. Instead, it feels like someone who knows exactly what he’s doing, guiding you deeper into their labyrinth of sound until you can’t tell which way is up anymore.
And here’s the thing: this isn’t just experimentation for its own sake. Beneath the warped structures and the daring choices lies a strong beating heart of Black Metal. You can feel the roots in every blast beat, in the atmosphere conjured from dissonance, in the rage and catharsis that pulses through each track. Martre clearly loves the genre, but he’s not content to mimic what’s been done before. He wants to take it somewhere new — somewhere scarier, stranger, and far more exhilarating.
Listening to Too Scarred To Resist, Too Scared To Exist feels like being stalked by a nightmare that keeps shifting shape every time you think you’ve figured it out. It’s unsettling, it’s unpredictable, and it keeps you coming back for more. That sense of danger, of not knowing what’s around the next corner, is exactly what keeps Black Metal alive and vital in 2025.
I’ve always been a huge supporter of bands who challenge the so-called “rules” of Black Metal. Genres stagnate when they sit still too long, and stagnation is the enemy of true expression. Martre understands this better than most, and with this EP he’s thrown down a gauntlet: don’t get comfortable, don’t get complacent, don’t settle for the ordinary. Push, twist, experiment, and see how far you can go without losing the black flame at the core.
Martre hasn’t just released a record — he’s delivered an experience. One that leaves you rattled, exhilarated, and wanting to hit play again as soon as it ends.T
Too Scarred To Resist, Too Scared To Exist is available now from the Martre Bandcamp page.
CHOICE CUT: Swarm of Incomprehension
The Black Metal Archives Verdict: Bold, daring, and utterly uncompromising, Martre’s vision of experimental Black Metal is a nightmare worth surrendering to.
