New Skeletal Faces-Until the Night album review and awesome band interview. By Mark Jenkins. FFO; Goth, Punk, Deathrock and everything in between.
New Skeletal Faces-Until the Night album review and awesome band interview. By Mark Jenkins. FFO; Goth, Punk, Deathrock and everything in between.
New Skeletal Faces-Until the Night album review.
Disexist
Everything's tough as fuck. Like Bauhaus covering a punk song. The atmosphere and savage tone are all so brutal and alluring to my psychotic ears. The turbulent guitars have almost a Middle Eastern flavour to them. The 5-minute timeframe flies by despite all the depth in this track. It's a killer opener and the main riffs are so meaty and aggro while being as angsty as a goth without their medications. The song structure is never the second place for this band because everything is written with precision and purpose.
Until the Night.
If Bauhaus and Christian Death had a baby, a hairy baby, it would be called New Skeletal Faces. Man, I've always dug Deathrock, the bastard son of early metal, raw punk, early goth and for me, horror movie Skate Thrash or is it Skate Goth? Who cares? It's vivid and rocking.
But this particular track takes me back to quirky punk, post-punk compilations of the 80s or the 90s and this ain't no shit pastiche of retro music. This is legit. Just watch the interview fuckers, you'll find out everything. It's all genuine, passionate, underground as fuck, hooky, gritty and grippy, gothic punk metal. The title track of the album works so well because it takes all the elements and fuses them to give it perfectly acidic vocals, abrasive yet pleasant. Riffs jump out of your speakers and attack you whilst frankly psychotic drum and detonating bass work that makes every track combust. This track is sensational as is the video and this needs to be on a retro zombie movie soundtrack as soon as possible. Fuck yes!!!.
Ossuary Lust.
This for me
was the biggest what the fuck kind of moment on this release. Take the start,
those plodding apocalyptic drum explosions, the 80s as fuck bass wizardry, and the
wild and apeshit vocals of Errol kind of
whining maybe schizophrenically grim and intimidating, but they get your
attention because they are the main event. If you don't dig the vocals on this
go fuck yourself. Seriously some of the best warped vocals ever; as insanely
good as Rudimentary Peni and I fucking worship everything that band has done.
This is brilliant but the mind-blowing kicker is a skull pulverizing riff at
about 1 minute and 8 seconds so intense and overwhelming. Hell yes, easily my
favourite on this album as the vocals, the bass, the drums and the guitars all
work as one as a world destroying weapon. At the 3 minutes, they give you even
more with a slower tempo section that easily destroys you, your head will bang
spastically like early Metallica releases (when they were actually great like
the first 4 albums). This is an epic and classic track.
Wombs.
This is a
slow-building track but well appreciated as it heavily leans into both the
Christian Death influence as well as TSOL and even Sisters of Mercy.
Yes, these cats can slow stuff down, but they remain as beastly and hairy as the faster shit. This is because they are super talented and very apt at clever and sharp songwriting or song composition. Another classic track. Throw this in any death rock compilation and you'll have to pinch yourself that it's not a classic band from the early to mid 1980s.
Zeitgeist Suicide.
This also
leans into a similar vibe as aforementioned, but also with more grit and snarl.
The main riffs and the graveyard atmosphere on this track is well layered and
so punchy. It has all the melodrama of classic goth, also the punk pogoing of
early TSOL and LA hardcore bands; whilst also making me reminiscent of the
bloody glory of the mighty Samhain and even Alien Sex Fiend equally.
Pagan War.
Slice by
slice, this track brings back the punk mayhem in a UK anarcho band style be it
a Amebix or a Rudimentary Peni; but also dipping into the gothic hard rock and
being as clever as Public Image Limited. This clash of styles works as a
perfect head-nod to many original music eras, but being unique at the same time.
It is all morbid rock styles underpinned by a foundation by band members who
are into the obscure bands and get what alternative music or scene community is
all about. Utter banger of a tune.
Enchantment of My Inner Coldness.
Now with
that title you fucking better deliver the evil goods. And this song certainly
does, sizeably different from the rest of the album. This launches head-on into
the post-punk of almost Killing Joke, but fronted by John Lydon and all those
other UK post-punk tones and mood are wickedly perfect. The whole release has
so much diversity and interesting styles to really make the listener have a
great time.
It reminds
me of being a teenager listening to a classic album for the first time. That
sublime warm and fuzzy feeling. Probably like Errol's gorilla-like chest. Also
here is a showcase of superb guitar work. Crazed shredding screams "fuck the stadium
rock bullshit", let's punish the listener with some more more creepy and fucked up stylings.
Raise the Dead.
Covering a Bathory classic track is an enormous risk and not only did the band not slaughter it, but embraced it and added enough of their own New Skeletal Faces style to make a scintillating manner to close out an amazing album.
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-how the new album builds on the brilliance of Celestial Disease
-the history of the band and their previous bands
-hairy chests and how they define a genre
-Deathrock and its influence on their sound
-live performances
-the amazing production on this release
-how refreshing it is to be free of modern trends etc
-highlights of their career so far
-endless chat about hardcore, anarchopunk and so much more
Enjoy:
(as always our interviews are via our YouTube channel, please subscribe and spread the word)
Take note all Australian and international touring agencies, these guys are superkeen to tour this country and have played with the likes of:
Cattle Decapitation, Combichrist, Pentagram,Poison Ruin, Fuming Mouth, Christian Death, Sadist to name a few significant bands, but most recently they are on the Decibel Magazine Tour in Northern America(massive tour) with Mayhem, Mortiis and Imperial Triumphant!!!.
So give them your support and get them to Australia!!!
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