Thursday 8 May 2014

Review of "None Will Mourn" by Skinfather


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. 
★★

STREAM THE ALBUM HERE FOR FREE