Skeletonwitch – The Apothic Gloom (2016) / 78%

A gloomier and evolved approach 

Skeletonwitch is band that I’ve been ignoring since their excellent sophomore effort Beyond the Permafrost mostly because I stopped following melodic death metal except perhaps for a very small number of bands like Dark Tranquillity. Following the departure of founding vocalist Chance Garnette (I guess he became unlucky?), the American quintet managed to revitalize their sound with this sweet extended play.

The sound of the Ohio based band has always been a mishmash of styles surrounding their melodeath core like their thrash leanings. They also had some black metal elements as well but, as far as I remember, those were never as obvious as they are here. I feel the melodic black approach those guys took here has injected some life in their formula and the addition of vocalist Adam Clemans (Wolvhammer) adds a certain blackened sludge/crust. The final track of this EP, “Red Death, White Light” (the title reminds me of a The Velvet Underground album) is basically a mix of their melodeath sound with a shitload of post-black metal and it’s superbly done. Clemans’ vocals are not as insanely high as Garnette’s but I think he did a fantastic job and he fits the style.

The first three tracks, while good, just don’t reach the same level as the last track. The two tracks sandwiched between the title track and the seven minutes closer are fast bangers with a lot of groove but they just don’t do much to reinvent the formula (not that it was needed, you could say). The first track, “The Apothic Gloom” brings a certain melancholia to the EP with its soft introduction and some Swedish doomy death feels. I was almost reminded of Tribulation’s The Formulas of Death and their semi-gothic influence with this track. There’s a musical depth in those songs just like the death metal played by bands such as Horrendous. It’s not just pure melodic aggression.

Skeletonwitch are once again successful at melding genres together and things are looking well for their next full length album if they continue to expand their sound like they did with this release. Maybe someone will give them a leaf stone so they can evolve Gloom into Vileplume and be even better.

Skyless Aeons - The Era of Famine (2016) / 80%

Satiated melodic extreme metal

The first extended play of this Canadian quartet from Ontario is quite impressive. The young men are playing a mix of many metal styles while showcasing their excellent musicianship pushed forward by a professional production.

There’s a rich diversity to Skyless Aeons’ music even though their material is cohesive and doesn’t feel the need to go into extra clean, girlfriend metal territories to get their point across. The four tracks (all between seven to eleven minutes) are progressive affairs without too much flush. The guitars of Nicholas Luck alternates between early 90s tremolos, a modern dissonant approach to black metal and an healthy dose of melancholic Nordic melodic death metal and he plays everything well.

Their sound is accessible (in metal terms, of course, this is still extreme metal) but not too polished. Nonetheless, they could benefit from adding a second guitar to the band as their sound could become even more emotionally complex but still, Luck is everywhere and that’s not really a complaint. It would certainly help them to transfer their intensity to the live setting (I’m saying that but I’ve never seen them live so take that with a grain of salt). The short, well placed solos are also tasteful and I think this side of the band could be expanded.

The vocals of Nate Ferreira are very freaking good, rough and earthy, they’re piercing and striking. The deep death metal inspired growls are one of the highlights of this record. He almost reminds me of British legends Dani Filth (but not as obnoxious) or Dave Hunt (listen to the first part of the title track). Despite the quality of the singer, I do think he’s overly present in the compositions. They should let the songs breathe a bit more. Maybe Ferreira had too much to say? I liked his lyrics though, they’re mostly about we suck as a society and how the earth is doomed.

Watch as our culture crumbles to dust  The earth overpowers our greed and our lust 

They’re a solid instrumental band so it would be enjoyable to get more extended musical sections especially since they compose lengthy numbers. The short introduction of “Contrived Into Form” reminded me of The Gallery era of Dark Tranquillity and that’s certainly a good thing.

It’s a shame that they’re still unknown as they should be opening the tours of Insomnium and the likes, in fact they should probably tour with Be’lakor since the Australians definitely are one of their main inspirations. One of the best new Canadian bands, for sure. They shouldn’t have to show their buttholes to anyone to get some recognition, they’re talented and heir mix of influences feels relatively fresh. They have my full support.

Support the band by buying their album on Bandcamp.