Review
Athens, Ohio is known for three things: being a college town (and therefore home to hipsters), the former site of Midget Motors Corporation, and the home of one of the Midwest's most treasured metal bands, Skeletonwitch
. They released their fourth full-length this year in Forever Abomination. The album does not bring anything new to the table. This is clearly Skeletonwitch-brand blackened thrash, with short, fast-paced thrash attacks with some blackened riffing and rasped vocals. It's raw, pure, and simple. If it ain't broke, as they say.
Abomination represents yet another incremental improvement by the band. They sound a bit tighter this time around, and the songwriting is marginally better than their previous release. Of course, that makes it a non-essential addition to your collection. And even though it's slightly better by any objective standard, it lacks some of the charm of breakout Beyond the Permafrost.
The Verdict: Skeletonwitch believe in the virtue of consistency. A new record from them is about the same as a new record from Amon Amarth
. It will not win any new fans, but it won't alienate anyone either. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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ReplyDeleteI deleted the above comment because it was shameless promotion without even a veiled attempt to connect it to the subject matter of the post or blog. Next time, contact me if you want to do something like that. Chances are I'll be willing to help out.
ReplyDeleteI think you sell this one a bit short in your description if not the score. Now I had barely listened to skeletonwitch before yesterday (so my opinion ain't worth a whole lot) but I love the NWOBHM element which I think elevates it above the blackened thrash average plus the production is really good.
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