What do we have here? A death rock trio, named New Skeletal Faces, that sprung form fertile Californian soil, and that is being released on Peaceville Records, promising to fuse “the seductive and spellbinding gothic prowess of bands such as Christian Death” and the “raw unbridled energy of early Swedish black metal legend Bathory”. Sounds excellent to me. Let’s see if the music can keep the announcement’s promise.
Until the Night is the name of the album, their second full-length, and its cover features what looks like an updated take on the most famous skeletal face in all of art history. I’m instantly reminded of images and stories of existential dread – from Edvard Munch’s The Scream to the walking dead of today’s (horror) movies. The cover design’s background colouring gives it just the right gothy touch – the greenish-blue lines prompting images of caves, moss and mould.
On to the music: Of the two announcements mentioned above I find that one is true and one is not. I really don’t hear much Christian Death on Until The Night, but I do hear a good portion of black metal. There is, for one, the pretty good Bathory cover that closes the album, but there are also frequent excursions of drums and guitars into black metal realms on other tracks. This certainly explains why the band was interesting for Peaceville Records to include in their roster. The band’s sacrilegious attitude might also have helped. In any case, the inclusion of a bit of black metal makes the music of New Skelatal Faces’ stick out from among similar bands and that’s always a good thing.
Overall, I liked the eight mid-tempo songs, although I must say that the at times screechy vocal performance might be an acquired taste. However, there is absolutely nothing to criticise about the music’s instrumental part. The musicianship is first grade and the music has just the right combination of aggressive parts and danceable and sometimes melancholic melodies to appeal to a wide audience of dark music enthusiasts. In addition, the recording is thankfully not overproduced or polished, but rather raw which makes the album instantly sound more authentic and thus more appealing. Another look at the PR material reveals that album was tracked, mixed and mastered by producer/engineer Bill Metoyer (Slayer, Wasp, DRI).
There are quite a few bands out there at the moment that make music in a similar vein, combining punk, goth rock and heavy metal. The Wraith, also Californians, come to mind, and Unto Others (formerly Idle Hands) from Oregon. Compared to the latest releases of these two bands, New Skeletal Faces seem to insist on a bit more deviance and a bit more punch. Why the hell not?
(7.5/10 Slavica)
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