Skelator-Agents Of Power

Metal On Metal Records/RAW Metal
2012

Awhile back I covered Skelator's "Death To All Nations" in a Forgotten Gems article (link below) so imagine my surprise when I got an e-mail from Metal On Metal Records toting the band's third full-length album. I quickly sent off a request for promo materials (this and several other albums on the label I hope to review) and let me just say that I was not disappointed. My only minor complaint with this promo is (and I can understand why they do this is a day and age of extreme digital piracy) how often you keep hearing "you are listening to Skelator the king of fear Metal On Metal Records.com". That does take away some of the impact of an otherwise enjoyable listening experience. Obviously that is just for press copies so I wouldn't lose sleep yet Skelator fans. Now, the big selling point here is aimed towards Michael Moorcock fans: “Elric: The Dragon Prince”, a 40 minutes epic in 12 parts. My guess is most people will not know who Elric of Melniboné is anyway so what does it matter? If your curious just do a Google search and you'll find out for yourself. It's a concept album and truth be told Skelator are not the first band to tackle the subject matter and they probably won't be the last. What matters most to most people (including me) is the meat of the matter. How is the sound? Is it a step-forward from their last album? Yes, although the two albums are also so very different. This being a concept album there is a certain feel to the album in the way it flows. While the last album just assaulted you with hard-hitting old-school metal this newest one follows it's own game plan and seems a tad more focused on the job at hand. There is still plenty of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Dio worship going on. Obviously other bands in the same ballpark would be Virgin Steele, Hellstar, Metal Church, Sacred Steel and to a lesser extent Manilla Road. With Skelator though the band doesn't just repeat all the same the same notes, in different order, like far too many newer traditional/U.S. power metal bands. No, these guys seem well-suited at crafting epic metal without any of the added flair that often times drags down modern metal revivalists. More importantly they seem to be making more of a move towards an individual sound with album number three. Slowly the band is carving out their own unique sound and I'd suspect that by album number four the comparisons will be less and less and Skelator will just sound like....well, Skelator.










http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Forgotten+Gems%3A+Skelator-Death+To+All+Nations+

Forgotten Gems: Skelator-Death To All Nations

Metal on Metal Records
2010


Again we find ourselves with not so much a "Forgotten Gem" per say but rather a release that slipped by the metal community without a proper response. In a world in which we find our lives sonically assaulted by horrible modern metal and thousands of black metal acts that all sound alike I would argue the need for more traditionally minded bands like Skelator. Before you ever take this release for a spin you just know from their name and album art that this one is going to be retro. Maybe not retro in the same way as acts like Enforcer, Cauldron, Skull Fist and White Wizzard. No, what we have here is retro loving power metal that is modern enough without being the lame duck that is modern metal. Let me explain more. Formed in San Diego (currently they are in Seattle, Washington where I just happened to be this past month) in 1998 this five piece band went the usual route of demos, EP, a split and compilation appearance before hitting the world with their self-released/independent debut "Give Me Metal or Give Me Death" in 2008. Two years later we have the aptly titled "Death To All Nations". While retro in nature (influenced no doubt as much by classic bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Blitzkrieg, Angel Witch, Dio and Judas Priest as they were by Fates Warning, Helloween, Metallica, Crimson Glory, Running Wild, Grave and Helstar) there is more than enough modern flair for today's discriminating listener. For one thing the production is crisp and clear allowing songs like "The Truth" and "Circle of Bloodshed" to explode out of your speakers! While in general the group falls into an almost European epic heavy/speed metal category (without the cheesy keyboards and with more thrash metal riffs) tunes like"Stand Up (For Rock and Roll)" come off as more of a homage to early eighties acts like Ozzy, Dio and Judas Priest. It does seem out of place on an album filled with serious heavy tracks and yet it has an earnest feel to it that makes you long for the days when true metal LPs lined the shelves of record stores. No doubt this was a release that just got lost among the mess of heavy metal releases in 2010 and some may view their take on the genre as being to old fashioned and hooky. The thing is though with the revivalism movement in full swing these days a band like Skelator should be standing out in front with their top notch musical skills and ability to write hook-filled heavy metal numbers. Hopefully this post will help lead others to Skelator's brand of retro metal.

Forgotten Gems:Nightshade-Dead of Night

Music for Nations
1991




Forget grunge for a second and take a moment to ponder just how great the heavy metal scene was in Seattle, Washington back in the day. I'm not saying it isn't still pretty intense. Wikipedia lists recent acts like Blood & Thunder, Sword of Judgement, Midnight Idols, Fallen Angels, Deathbeat, H.M.P, Big Business, Drown Mary, Vigilance, Skelator, Ceremonial Castings, Inquisition, Torture Box, Dead Soul Funeral, Inquinok, Pure Hatred, Riot & Rhythm, Tasty Lixxx, Deathmocracy, Wolves in the Throne Room, Future Disorder and Edge of Oblivion. I've just recently reviewed Skelator so the scene is obviously still striving. But, compared to what came out of Seattle before that list pales in comparison. Not only did you have tier one bands like Metal Church, Queensrÿche, The Accused (more of a crossover band really but still relevant), Forced Entry, Sanctuary/Nevermore, Heir Apparent and Fifth Angel but you also had cult bands like Watchmen, TKO, Q5, Reverend, Serpent's Knight, Taist Of Iron, Bitter End, Terrorist, Byrd, Waxwing, Rottweiller, Mistrust, Faustus, Braindead, Culprit, Coven, Death Squad, Re-Active, Cyperus, N.M.E. and Hammerhead. Heck, even the Christian metal band Bloodgood came out of this rain soaked city. Maybe it is all the rain and the fact that the area is so grey that has caused so many to turn to hard and heavy music as a means of escape. Who knows? Seattle is just one of those gold mine places when it comes to heavy metal. That brings us to Nightshade a band that has ties to several other Seattle metal bands. In fact you could consider Nightshade to be a continuation of Q5. Towards the end of Q5's days vocalist Jonathan Scott K, guitarist Rick Pierce and bassist Evan Sheeley decided it was time for a change. Along with the name change came a change in style as Nightshade is more power metal bordering on thrash. Q5 always played beautiful melody filled heavy metal. Note that Nightshade still has some melody although this is more power metal not unlike a heavier Lizzy Borden. Yes, I frequently dog on Amazon customer reviews so I know this next bit will shock. When I first looked into this band one of the reviewers on Amazon actually gave what would be an almost spot on description of this band when he stated that it was like "Lizzy Borden meets Testament". That really is a close call as Nightshade plays a nice and crunchy version of power metal with just enough of an edge and eye towards garage metal to give it this underground feeling. Sure this album might be fairly typical of 1991 and the American power metal scene in general although I'd wager a buck that Nightshade has more than a little amount of renegade appeal to them. This is certainly one of those albums that power metal fans will love and I can't rave enough about just how "metal" this album sounds.