It’s
time to get heavy. I’m talking break-the-scales heavy. Heavier than a mountain.
Heavier than a planet. HEAVIER THAN YO MAMA.
Californian
death metal act, Skinfather, are signed to Streetcleaner records – a label
owned by, Todd Jones, the lead singer of grindcore band, Nails. Employing the
same pummelling production style as Nails, this debut album by Skinfather
strikes like a punch to the face. Old-skool-death-metal-seasoned chugga-chugga
riffs play out to largely mid-tempo beats. An absence of blast beats is
refreshing and the band clearly favour headbangability over speed. ‘Dead Still’
lays down the biggest, baddest, most headbangable riffs and is my favourite
amongst the bunch.
Some of
the riffs do slip into generic territory and as ferocious as the lead vocalist
is, a memorable hook from him now and then wouldn’t go a miss. The USP here is
clearly the production. Some of my favourite extreme metal acts – Strapping Young
Lad and Portal being notable examples – appeal to me because of their creative
production methods, engineered to sound as abrasive as possible. Skinfather
have me hooked in that respect. They know how to leave their listener cauliflower
eared through quality of sound rather than speed. With improvements to melody
and songwriting, they could really make a name for themselves.
★★★★☆