»4th November 2007

Music Review: Skeletonwitch 'Beyond the Permafrost'

This is my review of Skeletonwitch - Beyond the Permafrost. I've sent it off to the student paper, hoping it will get printed like my review of Year Zero did. However, I have very little faith in Leeds Student and so I have put the review here where it will at least get some exposure. Fight the system and such!

Skeletonwitch – Beyond the Permafrost (Prosthetic Records)

Skeletonwitch hail from Athens, Ohio and are signed to indie label Prosthetic Records. Forming in 2003 the band describe themselves as black metal/thrash and have been touring pretty much constantly since their inception. ‘Beyond the Permafrost’ is the band’s debut album and is a record that wears its influences proudly on its sleeve. Skeletonwitch have an accessible and familiar sound which ranges from the rapid riff-fest of Metallica’s ‘Kill ‘Em All’ to In Flames’ melodic death metal opus ‘Whoracle’.
‘Beyond the Permafrost’ is an assault of breakneck riffing and never drops below the pace you’d expect at a greyhound race. Skeletonwitch delight with lengthy melodic sections punctuated with soaring leads and solos. Vocalist Chance Garnette’s style is harsh but clear, snarling and screaming vocals centred around traditional metal topics resulting in songs with upbeat names like ‘Bringers of Death’ and ‘Remains of the Defeated’.


Strangely for a metal band, the two weirdest looking members are actually the guitarists. Neo-Lemmy in the centre is clearly the singer and the one on the right of Neo-Lemmy reminds me of a terrified sheep.

Track nine, ‘Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery’, is a stand out track on the album. With catchy riffing from guitarists Nate Garnette and Scott Hedrick and some of the album’s heaviest moments. The title track is also of note, with a menacing opening section leading into a great double bass drum driven verse, whilst the guitars rumble and cascade over the chaos. Yet, the song also manages to deliver some air guitar inspiring moments during the instrumental sections.
The trouble with the album is that with thirteen songs and being just shy of forty minutes, most of the songs are quite short even if there are a ridiculous amount of riffs crammed into the space. Listening to the album I wanted the band to give me a lengthy, more progressively structured song, exploring some different sounds. This criticism hardly makes for a bad album, the sheer pace of the songs and the great energy that is sustained across the album can carry things over these problems.
Whilst ‘Beyond the Permafrost’ is perhaps lacking a certain maturity in song writing, as a debut effort it is fantastic. Skeletonwitch really are an exciting band and will be ones to look out for at next years festival season when they’ll hopefully grace us in the UK with their presence. When a band has a name as good as Skeletonwitch, they really must deliver the goods, and ‘Beyond the Permafrost’ certainly does not disappoint.

(8/10) ____ ____________


Extar, over, out.

79. If someone is especialy brutal say "HAIL MOTHERFUCKER"