I'm not familiar with this band so I was somewhat surprised to be greeted by raging metal that draws on influences from classic thrash and power metal as well as more contemporary death metal styles (namely of the melodic Scandinavian variety) with sneering vocal screams that definitely have that more modern edge. Some of the tremolo picking riffs have more of a metalcore thing going on than a true metal vibe, but the actual tone of the recording and runs like those at the start of "Every Rotten Corpse Shall Burn" definitely have an authentically dated atmosphere that I dig. They've just got that dry, somewhat distant sort of ring to their sound, and it basically works. They could stand to have more bass in there, and the vocals could be slightly less prominent, but despite its raw corners I can handle the sound. Songwriting wise they keep things short and fairly fluid, so there's not much wandering around. As a result I wouldn't call this very diverse, but I think that suits them pretty well. It does get a little stale after the first half, but I think the way the riffs piece together is definitely cool, and the solos also make sense both within the context of the songs and against the timeless "heavy metal" dual guitar harmonies exhibited. I have to say, the acoustic break in "Onward to Battle" is really nice though, and they do a pretty good job of mixing up the tempos here and there as well. My only complaint about the actual music would be the vocal style, as it just doesn't gel with this writing for me. I'd far prefer to hear solid singing or 80's thrash yelling, because the snarling high screams just clash with the rocked out flavor of certain tracks like "Vengeance Will Be Mine". The occasional growling works slightly better, but it's still just not right - this isn't that heavy like most current bands are, they're a little lighter on the distortion and attack in the aesthetic of the genre's roots, so I'd sort of like to hear the vocals follow suit. The layout keeps it simple with a few band photos, minimal text, and nice artwork. The inner panels have a slightly more comic book styled feel, and that carries over to the front and back covers, but the paintings there are more finished in appearance with sort of an old school metal thing happening, and it might seem a little cheesy but I think it works great - especially on the front cover, which is the most developed. Not bad. Not great, but they've got a good foundation here, so I'll be curious to hear more. The playing is pretty tight and they write subtly more creative riffs than most such bands (see "No Rest for the Dead" especially), so they could do some damage down the road.
[Shredded]
Running time - 30:38, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Vengeance Will Be Mine, No Rest for the Dead]
Skeletonwitch - http://www.skeletonwitch.com
