01. Intro
02. The Captive Trojan Maiden
03. Life a Bane
04. The Price of War
05. Our Greatest Curse
06. The Furies' Hymn
07. Deadland pt.1
08. Deadland pt.2
09. Thou Shalt Die
10. Death at Last
11. Why Shrink From Death
12. Outro
Comentario:
3er álbum de esta banda griega que practica un pesado y oscuro Death Metal de sonido añejo en la línea de bandas como DESECRESY, primerísimos GOREFEST, primerísimos SEPTIC FLESH, BOLT THROWER, primerísimos ASPHYX...
Soulskinner from Athens, Greece are already active since 2000 and have released their third full-length via Xtreem Music in late 2014. After a short intro, the band starts with the first tunes and immediately remind me of mighty BOLT THROWER, so the direction of the band is clear. Old school Death Metal, which nowadays is as popular as it used to be back in the early 90s. Also it seems to become a movement against the modern styled Metal bands, who seem to be even more popular. But this band worships these old days with the right respect. The popular deep grunts are used, as well as low-tuned guitars with a dirty rotten sound, drumming, varying between fast and slow and the typical lead melodies. What makes their sound more variable is the careful use of keyboards and also the careful incorporated Doom Metal parts, which appear from time to time and spark a very dark mood. In some tracks they increase the tempo, like in 'The Price Of War', before a wrecking ball like 'Our Greatest Curse' slows down the tempo and brings back the stench of the British Death Metal of the 90s. The production is clear and old school sounding, while the drum sound rumbles a bit too much sometimes and make this record sound like a demo release from time to time. But this does not affect the whole picture too much, as the material is fine and recommendable for all fans of this genre and a lot of the Voices readers. An interesting idea was, to write a song in two chapters and put both onto one album in a row. 'Deadland' offers all what Death / Doom Metal lunatics are yearning for. The first part is more mid-paced Death Metal, while the second part offers finest Death Metal with a touch of Gothic / Doom and a fine lead melody. For all worshippers of the good old Death Metal days, I can recommend to check this output out and again, Dave Rotten shows his fine taste for underground bands.
Xtreem Music’s dedication to all things old school—death, thrash, and otherwise—is nothing short of commendable, as evidenced by its extensive catalog of classic reissues to brand spanking new releases that sound stripped from a bygone but not forgotten era. Recent acquisition, Soulskinner, having previously released two albums on Sleaszy Rider Records, fits snugly at home on the Spanish label, a partnership that couldn’t be perfected even if all the gods under the human pantheon insisted. The new release, Crypts of Ancient Wisdom, is everything one could expect from the union and it’s a nice change of pace from all the other death metal releases that still play homage to the days of yore.
Instead of a gargled production and barely recognizably distinct riffs or a low end that will kill your speakers if turned too loud, which seems to be all the rage among old school patrons, especially the Finns, Soulskinner plays with such amazing clarity that there’s no pretension about it. The initial vibe one gets is actually quite simple in composition but faithfully engrained in a style established by several notable Dutch bands, such as Pestilence and Asphyx, with Sinister being the most obvious and strongest foothold for inspiration.
The catchy and at times groovy riffs can certainly recall Diabolical Summoning, for instance, perhaps in their stylistic similarities and galloping pace or their perfectly timed pitch in the structuring, and the leads, too, which aren’t technical showcases but grittier than a sheet of P12 sandpaper. When the opening riffs of “Deadlands Part 1” kick in Pestilence’s Testimony of the Ancients promptly comes to mind, and shortly thereafter, to drift away slightly from the Dutch theme, there is a total Dismember salute that has a melodic Massive Killing Capacity touch without being completely plagiarized, a fine line indeed, but one that Soulskinner knows not to cross so as to establish absolute ownership of the material.
Indeed, even among Obituary and Bolt Thrower styled chugging the imitation is more respectful than appropriated, a visitation that is as brief and thoughtfully arranged as it is flirtatious and reworked in new contexts, which gives the whole piece an identity all its own. An odd but fitting amalgamation this is, one that Soulskinner has traced with enough dignity and grace to keep the style relevant, but also with enough boldness to make it tirelessly new and exciting.
This is the third album from Greek Death Metal band Soulskinner.
Soulskinner play Old-School Death Metal with plenty of heaviness and atmosphere.
Very early on the band establish that they are extremely proficient at recreating that raw, elemental feeling that you used to get when you were first getting into Death Metal and you were discovering new things all of the time; Soulskinner delve back into that bygone era when Death Metal was young and vibrant and it’s a joy to hear it.
The album is aptly named as it seems as if the band have discovered a crypt of ancient Death Metal know-how and the songs here strike an immediate chord with the listener. This is primal, atavistic Death Metal at its best, recalling the very early days of bands like Bolt Thrower, Entombed, Gorefest, Grave, Hypocrisy, Septic Flesh, Asphyx, etc.
The songs are full of graveyard atmosphere, rotting brutality and ancient intelligence. Quality riffs are thrown around like they’re going out of fashion and the level of songwriting skill is through the roof.
I love the small, but important, little details they add in. Whether this is a riff here, a drum fill there, a small piano part here, a malevolent melody there…it all adds up and these songs are just great.
This is a exceptional collection of songs. Fantastic riffs and occult melodies combine to create atmospherically brutal tracks of classic Death Metal.
As is fitting for a band like this, the vocals are flawless; deep, guttural, cavernous growls that sound inhuman and timeless.
It’s very easy to get bored of Old-School bands who just want to relive the past but add nothing to it. Soulskinner are different though, as they seem more like forgotten relics from a time gone past that have recently been unearthed to spread their plague anew. It may be old and rotten but it’s still as fresh as the dawn of the scene.
A very highly recommended listen. Soulskinner will rekindle your love of probably the first Extreme Metal genre you ever got into.
‘Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom’ is the third album by Soulskinner from Greece. It is also the first album for Xtreem Music. The previous albums were released through Sleaszy Rider Records in 2003 and 2007 respectively. Soulskinner has been around since 2000 and contains members that are or have been active in bands such as Thou Art Lord, Mortify, Septicemia, Kawir, Nightfall or Obsecration. You can kind of hear that typical Greek background within the music of Soulskinner. Specific passages within the songs can be compared to bands like Rotting Christ or old Septic Flesh. In general you could say Soulskinner plays mid-tempo death metal in the vein of bands like Gorefest or Bolt Thrower. ‘Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom’ isn’t a bad album, but it doesn’t contain any songs that’ll blow you away. I doubt Soulskinner will win any popularity contest. Fans of Greek death and black metal probably will appreciate this one. Otherwise I think it’s a good thing to check out this CD first.
The ancients have awakened. Actually these beasts have never practically been asleep. Soulskinner is the evolution of Terra Tenebrae. A Greek band that featured members with highly respected presence (present and past) to the Greek (and not only) underground scene, in bands as Necromantia, Thou Art Lord, Rotting Christ and more. In 2000 they changed their name to Soulskinner and released two full length and two split vinyl records. A 7" and a 10". All this, just to make you understand that this new full length here is not from a band to be taken lightly. Heavy past here dudes and of course their new full has been awaited with high anticipation. A really dark and medieval intro breaks radio silence and sets the proper mood for the hearing. Their style has changed since their two first full lengths, and this is something someone can easily tell once the play button is pushed on this one.
The blasting moments (not competely vanished) and the razor sharp riffs, have given their place to slow crawling guitar themes that get surrounded by hellish leads, groovy drum parts and really hatefully dark growls. The boys have changed to better and this is something cheerful as lately a band changing makes people skeptical. So… intro gives its place to 'The Captive Trojan Maiden' and the swamp opens to devour you. Darkness all around their every moment. The classic thrashy drum patterns that all the old school bands used so much seems here so fitting. Great vocal flow and a great refrain are elements that make a song awesome in this genre and this one has it all. 'Life A Bane', 'The Prince Of War', 'Our Greatest Curse' and the massacre carries on in the same mood. The atmosphere is getting claustrophobic as the hearing proceeds. The songs are generous in length, all filled with great drum patterns and leads, that make the already cool riffing sound even better. All here are made to meet one cause. Dark ferocity and heaviness, all at once. And this is achieved. No blasting madness here and no technicalities. Only brutal old school material from a band that couldn't be more expert in this type of death metal.
The enhancements between atmosphere and violence here are simply awesome. From 'Deadlands 1' and its ferocity, they take you to 'Deadlands 2' and you find yourself in an abyss of heaviness with the reek of demise and putrid flesh up your nose. And this is an element I believe as the strong point of "Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom". This aura it carries, is really unmatched. The 90s era of death metal is present here and of course if this album was released back then, it would have been something we'd be referring to nowadays very often. The album carries on with 3 more songs in the same level of course as the previous ones and closes with an outro. The material is simply awesome and it get's a big boost from the awesome production. Perfectly balanced between the instruments, but on the same time muddy enough to make the swamp Soulskinner creates even more threatening. The awesome cover artwork completes the perfect pack for the old school death metal fan. Definitely one of the best for 2014.
Una bellissima copertina di taglio tradizionale, un’intro acustica che prepara al massacro, con una chitarra struggente da cui escono note melanconiche e malate, e poi giù nel più putrido antro dell’inferno, con un growl spaventoso che ci dà il benvenuto in questa ecatombe di anime.
Questo è Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom, ottimo lavoro dei greci Soulskinner, tra death old school e brutal, che farà tornare il sorriso a più di un fan del genere.
Nati dalle ceneri dei Terra Tenebrae, i Soulskinner possono contare sulla collaborazione di vecchi marpioni della scena greca, infatti tra le fila della band troviamo Bill Zobolas (ex Rotting Christ e Thou Art Lord tra le altre) Kostas Savvidis (ex Nightfall) alle pelli, Gothmog con il suo growl cavernoso e malatissimo, prestato anche a Thou Art Lord e Mortify, per finire con Spyros T. alla chitarra (con un passato in Obsecration e Wolfcry).
Insieme dall’ormai lontano duemila, la band è al terzo full-length, un massacrante lavoro nel quale l’esperienza e la bravura dei musicisti coinvolti vengono messe al sevizio di un album affascinante, senza compromessi, un death che passa da atmosfere brutal ad enormi rallentamenti al limite del doom, una valanga di riff macabri, malati, una discesa negli inferi senza nessuna speranza di tornare, il tutto ottimamente elaborato da una band che, senza strafare, impartisce una lezione di genere.
Le origini mediterranee si sentono in qualche assolo e, parlando di metal estremo, la band sprizza maturità in ogni passaggio, ogni nota che fuoriesce dalle casse è esattamente dove dovrebbe stare, facendo in modo che l’atmosfera orrorifica del disco non scenda mai dal livello altissimo che il gruppo tiene per tutto l’album.
Brani grandiosi come The Price Of War, le due parti di Deadland, lo spettacolare e monolitico riff di Death At Last, aprono un passaggio per il regno dei morti, e il perdersi in questo mondo parallelo equivale ad impazzire: i Soulskinner si impossessano delle ormai poche riserve di ragione rimaste e le martirizzano con la conclusiva e superba Why Shrink From Death, un capolavoro con l’inizio preso in prestito dai nostrani Goblin per tornare poi su territori metallici, sempre tormentati da un giro di piano da brividi.
I Soulskinner con quest’album si sono superati, regalando un’opera oltremodo riuscita e consigliata agli appassionati del genere, i quali avranno di che gioire.
Greece has long ago cemented its place on the Extreme Metal map. Bands like ROTTING CHRIST and more recently BIO-CANCER and SUICIDAL ANGELS have been have been solidifying the countries reputation for putting out Extreme music. SOULSKINNER, although not the most well known band to come out of the country, have been playing some really sepulchral Death Metal for close to twenty years, fourteen of those under the name SOULSKINNER. Since 2000, this band have put out two full lengths and two splits, and have recent released their third record, " Crypts of Ancient Wisdom". This is yet another slab of old school sounding Death Metal which matches up to the rest of their back catalogue.
The short intro track which opens this record is a really nice acoustic guitar piece, starting off as a single guitar, before becoming a twin guitar section. It builds some level of atmosphere straight from the start, and delivers on what this atmosphere promises when the first song, "The Captive Trojan Maiden" begins. It is very dark sounding, low fidelity Death Metal, very rooted in the old school sound. "Life a Bane" is very much the same, and has an air of BOLT THROWER about it, with its thick, gnarly riffs, tied in with some really nice guitar lines. "The Price of War" is a really brilliant song with a clear Punk influence, at least as far as the drums go. It's ferocious and has even more brilliant guitar lines, and the song ends on the sound of gunfire. Throughout the next track, "Our Greatest Curse", Bill Zobolas has clearly put out all the stops when it comes to the guitar work, which is absolutely fantastic on this song, mixing the crushing rhythmic dirge with some sweet melodic leads. "The Furies Hymn" is just straight forward, powerful Death Metal. Then it is time for the two part song "Deadland", the first of the two songs being more mid-paced and straight forward, and the second being this thick, heavy sounding Death Metal track, with many of the riffs alluding to the likes of BOLT THROWER and CARCASS. This is basically a great example of how Death Metal should sound; heavy and crushing. "Thou Shalt Die" is yet another stellar track by this band, with lots of really cool guitar lines. The slow, groove laden "Death at Last" and the album's eerie final track, "Why Shrink From Death", bring this album to its climax. The latter in particular is a very interesting song, utilising a piano tune to build the atmosphere up in the song before the riffs kick in. Then it is left to a short "Outro" to take the album to it's conclusion.
This is by far one of the best Death Metal albums I've heard in a good long while. This may, for me, be the best Death Metal release of 2014. It combines the riffs and stylings of the old school scene with other influences, and produces something that will appeal to many. Apart from the occasional, very tiny things, it's flawless. Definitely give this a listen, and check out the bands earlier work.
Death metal music is all good as it is packed with tons of negative vibes that want to make you take out all your angst on someone, but when you’ve an old school death metal unit like Soulskinner, the torture and suffering become one, and then your victim dies! “Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom” is a 12-song affair that has plenty of killer influences from the likes of Grave, Unleashed, Gorefest, Bolt Thrower and even Asphyx. These brutally lethal influences alone make this CD a worthwhile addition to your collection of total death. When you put Soulskinner’s “Crypts…” on your stereo for the first time, just prepare to be blown into the darkest and fiery depths of the abyss. Their music is a rabid and vicious hybrid of all things destructive. Their songs mercilessly butcher your spirit until it completely evaporates, leaving your tattered and beaten corpse for vultures soaring high above, waiting to zero in on your lifeless corpse.
I highly recommend this album for death metal heads into headbanging to darkened guitar parts and drumming that’s sure to move you into a chaotic frenzy. Overall, nothing out of the ordinary here, but Soulskinner do have it in themselves as well as their band to write ancient death metal music, which made the 1990s such an awesome time for this forgotten style of extremeness nowadays.
If you're reading this odds are you're a metalhead. If you're a metal band odds are you like bands with bombast, bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Dio, bands that speak to something epic and powerful. Well then, SoulSkinner is right for you, their new record Crypt of Ancient Wisdom is some of the most downright entertaining death metal I have heard ina good long while. See, the band have managed to do what so few of their peers in the genre can handle, they feel epic. When you dig into this record its takes you on a similar journey to a Dio record, even if it is a million times faster, louder, and more brutal.
There is something incredibly entrancing about the punishing grooves found on this record, it speaks to the incredible power that this band has to crush your skull and beat the listener into submission. Yet when you latch on, it's a joy to dig into. With a suitably epic intro and outro couching ten tracks of death metal madness it's hard not to fall in love with the encapsulating tracks found on Crypt of Ancient Wisdom. These guys understand what metl is all about and what makes us want to listen to metal, the simple beauty behind just that makes these songs incredibly powerful and easy to listen too. Sure it may be far from the mainstream, but I wholly understand the appeal, it's music you can feel, and that alone is hard to find these days.
Crypt of Ancient Wisdom is way too much fun to listen to and will keep your body moving and headbanging for many a spin. SoulSkinner understand the core concepts of great songwriting and when these blast beats start going you get that their is a sense of purpose behind them. These guys are artists and are getting to a point where they can elevate the genre to a new level. SoulSkinner are probably the most exciting death metal band to ever come out of Greece and I can only see good things happening for them in the years to come.
Τρίτο Full-length album για τους θρυλικούς Soulskinner, με τον τίτλο “Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom”. H μπάντα βρίσκεται σε εξαιρετική φόρμα και παρουσιάζει ένα εθιστικό album με απίστευτα riff, δημιουργώντας μια πνιγηρή κολασμένη ατμόσφαιρα.
Η ανατριχιαστική φωνή του Gothmog, που είναι ένα κεφάλαιο από μόνη της για την σκηνή, δεν αφήνει περιθώρια για να μην πωρωθείς με τραγούδια όπως τα, “The Captive Trojan Maiden”, “The Price Of War”, “Deadland pt.1”, “Why Shrink From Death” κ.α. Ο Βασίλης Ζόμπολας, στις κιθάρες, έχει καταργήσει κάθε λογική με την έμπνευση του στο μουσικό μέρος, καθώς μην ξεχνάμε και την μουσική για το “Fire & Brimstone” των Principality Of Hell, αλλά και την συμβολή του στο περσινό αριστούργημα των Thou Art Lord, “The Regal Pulse Of Lucifer”!!! Επίσης στο line up της μπάντας προστέθηκαν, o Kώστας Σαββίδης στα drums (ex- Mahakala - Kawir) και o Σπύρος Τριανταφύλλου στις κιθάρες!
Το “Crypts Of Ancient Wisdom” θα ενθουσιάσει τους φίλους συγκροτημάτων, όπως οι Desecresy, Bolt Thrower και Asphyx και σίγουρα θα προσθέσει ένα ακόμα αξιόλογο album στο μακρύ κατάλογο της ελληνικής σκηνής.
I’m going to give you an equation. Don’t worry if you’re bad at math and you don’t even have to think about answering it.
Greek band + death/black/thrash metal + ancient theme = ???
Turns out that the answer to that equation is Soulskinner’s new album “Crypts of Ancient Wisdom” (told you you didn’t have to think about answering). And when I say this band did exceedingly well at molding death, black, and thrash metal together into one badass album I mean they did extremely well at it! This entire album front to back is absolutely hardcore and brutal with vocals so low that it was very hard to understand what they were saying, and I stopped trying to understand after about a minute because that is a lost cause, my friends. They sounded fantastic nonetheless, however. The same goes for the guitars and the drums which are both brutal to no end and give no signs of letting up the entire album. “Crypts of Ancient Wisdom” is such an album that I would suggest it any day and everyday to anyone who digs ancient-themed metal that is brutal and hardcore to every extent of the word. And this is Soulskinner’s third album so imagine what the first two are like . . .
La carrera de fondo continúa, esto es un estresante pero apasionante sinvivir del que no podemos apearnos so pena de perder el tren, y ante la posibilidad de que algún exquisito manjar auditivo eluda nuestra cata. Que la antigua Grecia y sus pensadores han traspasado las barreras del tiempo es algo evidente (incluso con su mitología). Y así nos lo plasman SOULSKINNER con “Crypts of Ancient Wisdom”, a través del sello Xtreem Music (XM 159 CD) y mediante un macabro concepto de adaptación letrística perfectamente presentado a través del arte de un enorme Mark Riddick, conocido espécimen experto en grotescos y macabros pero divertidos esqueletos, catacumbas, mausoleos, fosas comunes o cualquier acto de muerte viva proyectado en el poderoso, mágico y súper expresivo formato “blanco y negro”, de fuerza visual impactante. Que la dama de la guadaña aguarde con impaciencia a la propia muerte, reloj de arena en mano y contando los minutos para formar parte de la cripta de los sabios, es una especie de utopía metafórica tan real como la vida misma, con el contraste que esto supone y la redundante realidad que asimismo rezuma. Los conceptos de portada y de contraportada contienen dibujos espléndidos (y muy diferentes), con los que Dave Rotten se ha encargado de realizar todo el layout del trabajo, consiguiendo un libreto bien compensado y distribuido.
Para esta grabación, SOULSKINNER se conforma como dúo: por un lado tenemos al creador de toda la música, Bill Zobolas “EL”, que se ocupa de registrar todos los instrumentos, incluso de programar una de las mejores baterías, pienso, que se hayan podido escuchar en un proyecto así, tan directo, orgánico y en ocasiones mimético, dados los diferentes ambientes con los que se expresan a través de “Crypts of Ancient Wisdom”. La parte letrística y vocal está llevada a cabo por Gothmog, y su trabajo para la ocasión consiste principalmente en adaptaciones de clásicos de la tragedia griega, pertenecientes a grandes poetas como Euripides, Posidippus, Aeschylus o Sophocles (en sus nombres sin traducción a nuestro idioma…), pero también sobre textos del historiador bizantino Agatias y del más actual maestro del terror y misterio Edgar Allan Poe. Ambos músicos forman gran equipo y han logrado una gran tarea, mediante un disco que sin dar demasiadas vueltas logra mantener atmósferas variadas y envolventes.
El estilo en sí podría catalogarse como simple y llano Death Metal, aunque se emplean diferentes técnicas y recursos que permiten asociarlo a otras vías: desde trémolos DISSECTION a cabalgadas primeros DEATH, densidades BOLT THROWER y macabras auras AUTOPSY/INCANTATION, incluso aspectos Neo-Finland tipo DESECRESY. Pero también hay una tendencia thrasher en el sonido de la guitarra, aunque no en todos los temas, y tampoco hasta el punto de llamarlo Death/Thrash. Esto es un trabajo absolutamente apropiado, denso y bien conjugado, con un sonido muy personal que se erige en una de las bazas ganadoras, antes incluso de hablar de la propia música. Las mezclas y la masterización corren a cargo del propio Bill Zobolas (RED 7 Studio).
La línea general del disco mantiene una tralla moderada, con temas rápidos que se intercalan con medios tiempos o secciones más lentas, incluso con la implementación de teclados puntuales, integrados muy bien en el contexto. Después de darle escuchas y escuchas, hay que decir que “Intro” engancha… es un sencillo y cautivador movimiento acústico que gana con cada escucha, convirtiéndose por derecho en una pieza imprescindible, que sin ningún tipo de prisa va desarrollándose hasta desembocar en la hecatombe sonora (siguiente track). Cuanto más se escucha, más atrapa, comenzar el disco con ella confiere una distinción inequívoca, además de lograr ser consecuente con el concepto de la obra.
“The Captive Trojan Maiden” aparece majestuosa, con sus guiños y melodías BOLT THROWER. Un corte Speed/Death de esos que hace que nos movamos sin parar, con una voz que parece provenir del Averno (tal cual). El estribillo es pegadizo pero serio, coronando con mucha fuerza este primer cañonazo, además de que contiene muy buenos solos y melodías.
“Life a Bane” parece continuar la misma senda, con la excepción de que integra pasajes más doomers, sin llegar a catalogarse como tal, pero que imprimen novedad y angustia.
“The Price of War” es más crusher, aunque juega con diferentes parámetros, principalmente tipo Sweden. Es uno de los temas que más me ha gustado, además implementa una cañera sección blast beat. Las partes percusivas son muy realistas y logradas, terminando el corte con sonidos de guerra y un riff asesino, aplastante.
“Our Greatest Curse” es una oda brutal, espesa y lenta, que le da la vuelta al recorrido mostrado hasta el momento. Buenísimo trabajo de cuerdas, voz y “parches”, quizá evocando sonidos THROWER/DESECRESY pero también de los últimos ochenta y primeros noventa, e incluso con un aire a los SODOM de “Obsessed by Cruelty”… es un temazo compacto en el que el espanto brota a raudales, que se corona con un final más melódico que desemboca en pura tralla. De lo mejorcito del disco.
“The Furies’ Hymn” ataca en onda Crust/Thrash, abarcando tempos relativamente rápidos que vuelven a conjugarse con reverberantes melodías que evocan la gloriosa etapa del primer Heavy Metal, con todo el peso Death correspondiente. Muy buena recta final, con dos solos de guitarra viscerales y de diferente sonido y timbre, antes de las estrofas conclusivas y de la cavernosa guturalidad de Gothmog, cuya voz se torna bien potente.
“Deadland pt.1” y “Deathland pt.2” están basadas en un escrito del citado Edgar Allan Poe. La primera es un martillazo que abarca diferentes ambientes, lentos y muy rápidos, comenzando con un riff a medio tiempo, de guitarras abrasivas. Pero la segunda gira completamente, asimilándose en cierta medida a la onda semi-slow de SLAYER y AUTOPSY. Hay que destacar que las guitarras del disco suenan llenas y cargadas de armónicos, muy presentes pero sin tapar al resto. Y en este tema especialmente, dados los diversos cambios entre ritmos y melodías, llegando a bajar bastante el pistón aunque recuperando el asunto. Las dos piezas encajan bastante bien, con duraciones de 3:56 Y 6:05.
“Thou Shalt Die” vuelve a dar otra vuelta de tuerca, por lo menos con su introductorio sonido finlandés, pero también a través de sus mezclas de patrones en onda sueca, en vertiente oscura pero también trémolo/ melódica. Gran solazo de guitarra que se marca Mr. “EL”. Un tema que termina como un muro de piedra, sin resquicios e impenetrable.
Abarcando la recta final de este trabajo (que de rácano no tiene ni un pelo, precisamente), nos encontramos con otro engendro, titulado “Death at Last”. Lentas melodías, banda sonora cualquier catacumba que se precie, dan lugar al rascar de las púas en continúo sube y baja, en un medio tiempo tirando a lento que brama sin piedad. A estas alturas no aporta nada nuevo, aunque las pegadizas y macabras melodías que aquí hacen gala de presencia (2:56) sobre un bajo con efecto de modulación hacen que esto gane bastantes puntos.
“Why Shrink From Death” es la joyita inesperada: cuenta con una inteligente introducción Doom Ambient con teclados, algo alucinante e impredecible en este trabajo, que se desarrolla fugazmente con ritmo y voces, pero pronto continua con un tema Death/ Thrash (tipo primeros DEATH) con buenísimos solos. Es la cercanía de la muerte, esto se acaba y nos lo recuerdan, ecos del pasado en forma de gotas con sonido a cuerda de tripa sutilmente acampanada, marcando el inicio cada cuatro compases, como avisando de su inevitable llegada.
Y por fin llega el momento de la despedida, “Outro” es una rareza de que mezcla guitarra clásica, delay y efectos ambientales, arrastrando la grandeza del conocimiento hacia los inexpugnables designios enterrados por los siglos. Se puede ser menos friki diciendo todo esto, incluso hacerlo más fríamente, pero el curro que se han pegado estos dos señores merece esto y mucho más. Al grano pero con genio. Los galones pesan y la experiencia es un grado.
Tras grabar este trabajo, SOULSKINNER “2.0” se han convertido en cuarteto (de nuevo), perfecto, ya que posiblemente consigan llevar al directo esta música, esperemos que con grandes resultados. Y solo queda decir que esto es otro punto para Xtreem Music por su compromiso con el Metal Extremo, en este caso apadrinando a los veteranos SOULSKINNER y a su “Crypts of Ancient Wisdom“. Sin andarse por las ramas ha logrado facturar un demoledor disco de puro Death Metal, plagado de sabiduría antigua, olor a humedad, carne podrida y huesos.
Los Thrash/Death Metaleros peruanos MAZE OF TERROR acaban de firmar contrato con Xtreem Music para la edición de su segundo álbum que está actualmente en proceso de composición para ser grabado en...
La banda rusa de Brutal Death OSSUARY ANEX acaba de frmar un contrato con Xtreem Music para la inmediata edición de su nuevo EP "Holy Blasphemition" que verá la luz el próximo 26 de Septiembre, así...
GRISLY es la nueva banda surgida de la inquieta mente del Deathmaster sueco Rogga Johansson. La banda acaba de grabar su álbum debut "The Spectral Wars" que captó la atención de Xtreem Music quienes...
La banda inglesa de Death Metal RAVENS CREED, ha completado su 4º álbum titulado "Get Killed or Try Dying" el cual saldrá editado el próximo 2 de Agosto a través de Xtreem Music.
La banda española de pathological Death/Grind NASTY SURGEONS, acaba de lanzar un video-clip a modo de 2º single de adelanto de su segundo álbum "Infectious Stench" que verá la luz el próximo 5 de...
Los Death/Grinders españoles NASTY SURGEONS han revelado el arte de la portada (de nuevo por Juanjo Castellano), listado de temas y 1er single de su segundo álbum "Infectious Stench" que verá la luz...
La veterana banda sueca RIBSPREADER acaba de revelar el arte de la portada, tracklist y 1er single de su 7º álbum "The Van Murders - Part 2", que será lanzado el 6 de Junio por Xtreem...
La banda finlandesa de Death Metal CARNIFEX, no esa banda americana de horrible Deathcore de moda, ver´s todas sus demos del '91 al '93 oficialmente re-editadas en CD a través de Xtreem Music bajo el...
La banda brasileña de Black/Thrash GOAT WORSHIP, formada por un sólo miembro, está lista para lanzar su 2º álbum completo "Shore of the Dead" el próximo mes de Abril a través de Xtreem...
Los legendarios Deathmetaleros de Florica KILLING ADDICTION están a punto de ver su clásico álbum debut "Omega Factor" re-editado el próximo 9 de Marzo a través de Xtreem Music. Fue también un 9 de...
