ALBUM REVIEW: Skeletonwitch, “Devouring Radiant Light”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 20/07/2018

Label: Prosthetic Records

The band has done something that not many bands can pull off, they have changed their style and made a very good record.

“Devouring Radiant Light” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Fen of Shadows

2). When Paradise Fades

3). Temple of the Sun

4). Devouring Radiant Light

5). The Luminous Sky

6). The Vault

7). Carnarium Eternal

8). Sacred Soil

The Review:

This is a turn up for the books. Skeletonwitch, purveyors of the finest blackened thrash, return with their first full length release with a new vocalist and... They have changed. “The Apothic Gloom” hinted at this; longer songs, less thrashing and so on. Well, once “Fen of Shadows” gets going it does thrash, but it mostly black-metals (not a verb) throughout its considerable eight minute playing time. The track, really, is black metal of the modern variety.

There is a lot of riffage to get your teeth into on “When Paradise Fades”, but the riffs are more melancholic, less brutal, less aggressive. This isn't as serious a volte face as Paradise Lost after “Draconian Times” or anything, but this is certainly a different record from what can only be viewed as a different band.

The material here is uniformly of high quality and there are blasts, melodic riffs, excellent vocals and state of the art drums aplenty. How this will go over with the band's fan base is another matter. “Temple of the Sun” ups the thrash quota effectively and this is not Wolves In The Throne Room or anything like that, but the raw aggression of previous albums has been smoothed off- no rough edges here. The title track even has a clean intro- and slow pacing!

As the album enters the back stretch, the stylistic shift is cemented and there is no going back to the sound of “Breathing The Fire” et al. The triplet time feel of “The Vault” is great, the track sprawling and full of great riffs and performances. The three minute burn of “Carnarium Eternal” is the closest thing here to anything off “Serpents Unleashed” or “Beyond The Permafrost” and really lets rip with the killer riffs and changes. By the time of “Sacred Soil”, the band has done something that not many bands can pull off. They have changed their style and made a very good record.

Whether this is a record that fans of Skeletonwitch want to hear is another matter. Metal fans are notoriously traditional in their wants and needs from certain bands. I confess that this is very unlikely to usurp “Serpents Unleashed” or even “Forever Abomination” from my playlist, but that is just me- I want blackened thrash... I want Skeletonwitch to play it. The change here is akin to Belphegor just becoming a straightforward black metal band and foregoing all the death metal elements of their sound. Make no mistake, this record is a victory but only time will tell if is a pyrrhic one in terms of the band's fan-base. Try it out as you may well love what they have done here; just forget their past.

“Devouring Radiant Light” is available here



Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Goatwhore - "Vengeful Ascension"

By: Jack Taylor


Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 23/06/2017
Label: Metal Blade Records

 

“Forsaken” jumps out of your speakers and down your throat and suffocates and entertains the listener in the best way possible. There’s nothing quite like what this band can deliver – the riffs, vocals and drumming is first class and unique

“Vengeful Ascension” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Forsaken
2. Under the Flesh, Into the Soul
3. Vengeful Ascension
4. Chaos Arcane
5. Where the Sun Is Silent
6. Drowned in Grim Rebirth
7. Abandon Indoctrination
8. Mankind Will Have No Mercy
9. Decayed Omen Reborn
10. Those Who Denied God’s Will

The Review:

Goatwhore are a lean, mean, blackened death metal machine and one of the genre’s most hard-working and consistent outfits. Since the release of ‘A Haunting Curse’ in 2006, Goatwhore streamlined their approach and created their distinctive sound which they are well known for today. ‘Vengeful Ascension’ is the Lousianan outfit’s fourth full-length since the aforementioned album was released, with thousands of miles of touring accumulated over this period as well.

The first impressions are decent – “Forsaken” jumps out of your speakers and down your throat and suffocates and entertains the listener in the best way possible. There’s nothing quite like what this band can deliver – the riffs, vocals and drumming is first class and unique. However, the following nine tracks have lead me to believe that perhaps these guys could do with a hiatus. I’m not just saying this because of my great desire to see frontman Ben Falgoust’s other band Soilent Green get back together again, but more due to the fact that Goatwhore are starting to sound a bit stale. Without wanting to be too harsh, a lot of the tracks on here sound like they could have been B-sides from the excellent ‘Constricting Rage of the Merciless’ and ‘Blood for the Master’. I’d go as far to say that unless you’re a Goatwhore diehard, it’s probably worth giving this album a miss and heading for any of the band’s previous four records.

Sure, I appreciate some of the more experimental moments on this album, such as the slower, doomier tracks which mark some kind of progression for the band, such as “Where the Sun is Silent”, but overall, there’s not a lot on here to really get me out of my seat. That being said, Goatwhore are an amazing live band, and should they pass through my town any time soon, I’d have no hesitation is seeing them, even if they played a great deal of this new record.

“Vengeful Ascension” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

FFO: Skeletonwitch || Soilent Green || Belphegor || Absu

REVIEW: Skeletonwitch - "The Apothic Gloom" (EP)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 19/08/2016

Label: Prosthetic Records

“The Apothic Gloom”CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). The Aphotic Gloom

2). Well of Despair

3). Black Waters

4). Red Death, White Light

The Review:

Skeletonwitch return with new vocalist Adam Clemans, following the rather ignominious departure of Chance Garnette. This tasty EP clocks in four tracks over its 20mins playing time; not far off the length of their last album! The EP finds the band in more measured mood; black metal riffing and blasts are present and more to the fore, frantic thrash riffing less so.

The titular opener is a sombre and rather epic affair- good production and many guitars layered over one another. The Skeletonwitch of 2016 is a rather more controlled beast. “Well of Despair” is similarly downbeat but with plenty of neck snapping thrash beats and that edge of blackened style to the riffing. There are some fantastic riffs on offer, so an excellent opening salvo, then.

“Black Waters” starts with some cracking riffage and maintains a kind of mid pace for the first minute, then blasts away. The band run through the gears convincingly, showing that they have lost none of their bite along with their front man. The mix is excellent, incidentally, and the bass runs really shine throughout. Nice solo to close it out in style as well.

The EP ends on the epic “Red Death, White Light”: over seven minutes in length. This track is unusual in Skeletonwitch's catalogue both for its length and atmosphere- which is both downcast and angry. Suffice it to say that this EP is a triumph and one that represents good value for money. I have liked all their records in the past. They are not reinventing the wheel and they are not going to push the intellectual boundaries of extreme music. Don't think too hard about it, it is metal. Indeed, some of the best metal you will hear this year.

‘The Aphotic Gloom’ is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

RIYL: Goatwhore, Toxic Holocaust, 3 Inches of Blood, The Black Dahlia Murder

SKELETONWITCH - Serpents Unleashed - Album Reivew

Skeletonwitch is a Thrash Metal band from Athens, Ohio, USA

The members are

Chance Garnette- Vocals
Nate "N8 Feet Under" Garnette- Guitar
Scott "Scunty D" Hedrick- Guitar
Evan "Loosh" Linger- Bass
Dustin Boltjes- Drums

Thrash will always be one the most pivotal genres of music, in my humble opinion. Without it, we would have no Big Four: and without those, most modern metal would not exist at all. So when I hear that thrash ragers Skeletonwitch are releasing a brand new album, I veritably jumped at the chance to get my sludge-imbued hands on it.

‘Serpents Unleashed’ is the fifth full-length album from the Athens, Ohio five-piece and follows on from 2011’s ‘Forever Abomination’ with eleven more tracks of pure thrash filth and fury. If you came looking for the aural equivalent of a hurricane dropping on your house, you have most certainly found it. Plus the uber-bearded frontman Chance Garnette sounds like the war cry of a Viking beserker. A particularly angry Viking beserker at that, too.

Take the title track, for a fine example. Being the first song on the album, it comes out of the speakers raging, fists swinging and teeth sharpened and ready to bite. It’s also the shortest song on the album too, bursting through from explosive beginning to mauling conclusion in a little over two minutes. Naturally, these thrash sabretooths aren’t ones for balladry: album closer ‘More Cruel Than Weak’ clocks in at nearly four and a half minutes long, and that fine offering is the closest Skeletonwitch will ever get to a mellow track. Indeed, its first minute is rather delicate: Nate "N8 Feet Under" Garnette’s and Scott "Scunty D" Hedrick’s guitar interplay giving way to distortion, heavy drums and Chance’s terrifying shriekwork. By the time this runaway mine cart of a track has reached its crushing end, no speaker is left unmolested by ‘More Cruel Than Weak’’s battering sonic display.

Now I’ve dealt with either side of the album, what about the main body of songs? Well, if ‘Serpents Unleashed’ (the song itself) is the starter and ‘More Cruel Than Weak’ is the dessert, consider everything in between a buffet of thrash proportions. Don’t worry about watching your figure: these tracks are low in calories, high in metal fibre, so feel free to gorge yourself. A particular treat of mine, I found, is ‘Blade On The Flesh, Blood On My Hands’, which satisfies everyone’s cravings for fast-paced, slamming guitars and charging, ground-shattering drums. Also, if you’re looking for that satisfying morsel, I suggest ‘Born of the Light That Does Not Shine’, a two-minute (and a bit) slice of the leanest, tastiest thrash from the other side of the Pond. Take one bite, and it will blow your mind.

Thrash’s flag is still flying proudly, and Skeleonwitch is a worthy band to carry that banner high for all the metal crowds to see. I can see that this most vital of genres is being kept vital and alive thanks to amazing bands such as this: to all you out there, get bitten by the Serpents Unleashed! 

Written by Chris Markwell

Thanks to Kelly at Prosthetic Records for sending us a promo to review. Much appreciated. Serpents Unleashed is available to buy from all good stockists now.

Check The Band From Links Below

https://www.facebook.com/skeletonwitchmetal

http://skeletonwitch.bandcamp.com/

http://www.myspace.com/skeletonwitch
http://www.twitter.com/skeletonwitch
http://www.skeletonwitch.com
http://www.indiemerchstore.com/skeletonw...
http://www.prostheticrecords.com