Skeletonwitch – Breathing The Fire
Athens, Ohio is not routinely known for pumping out quality metal bands and that’s probably not going to change in the near future aside from that of SKELETONWITCH. In recent conversations with other bands in the metal scene, many of them point fingers to Skeletonwitch for doing something rooted more in the old school thrash vein yet doing something a little different to make it stand out amongst those who when placed into the ‘retro thrash’ area many end up sounding like a joke, but not the case here.
Skeletonwitch has been turning heads and converting non-believers for a few years now since their jump to Prosthetic Records after releasing BEYOND THE PERMAFROST. This 5-piece have momentum going for them and have a solid underground buzz. Now it’s late 2009 and they give us BREATHING THE FIRE which will carry them up the totem pole of metal throughout 2010. Standout tracks include album opener “Submit To The Suffering” which is crushing in all aspects and “Strangled By Unseen Hands” which is as thrashy as they come in this day and age. The uniqueness presented within this album is simple in the fact that not one track is over four minutes in length. Skeletonwitch gets into the game, scores their points, and go home a winner as often bands fall into the trap of repeating the same items over and over again. The longest track at 3:43, “And Into The Flame” shows their multi-dimensional approach with old school thrash, elements of black metal, death metal, and a unique sense of dynamics which sometimes gets lost in extreme forms of metal. “Crushed Beyond Dust” and “Blinding Black Rage” are perfect compliments when played back to back. And while Skeletonwitch display different elements of metal, they know when to morph from one genre to the next to keep the listener interested and they don’t over use the best riffs in the songs.
I’ve said it several times before that when bands produce sounds that were familiar 25 years ago in the thrash genre, they end up coming across half-ass and as a joke. The best who can be placed into this area are LAZARUS A.D. and our subjects at hand, SKELETONWITCH who have proven they are worthy as a torchbearer of heavy metal into the next decade! Are you ready to start Breathing The Fire?
Rating: 8 / 10
Label: Prosthetic Records
Website: www.myspace.com/skeletonwitch
By Mark Thompson
(+5 rating, 5 votes)
