Artist: Skinless
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 3/20/01
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Title: Foreshadowing Our Demise Artist: Skinless Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 3/20/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
Alright this is my first recorded experience with Skinless, but I feel like I know them pretty well for the sheer fact that they seem to play every metal show in the NYC area. Well, they’ve been slurped up by Relapse records, and this is their debut, and it seems like they fit right in at that particular label.
This is a cool fucking record, not the most mind-blowing, not the most original, and certainly not the most serious, but it is a solid listen from the beginning to end. Skinless play a certain death metal that’s very influenced by Morbid Angel, easily evidenced by the amount they utilize artificial harmonics, but has the sensibilities of modern death metal, like Dying Fetus, Deeds of Flesh, and the like.
"This album is just damn fun to listen to, even if it’s not going to change your life." This band avoids being lumped into the same category with other, more mediocre bands, by presenting themselves much better. Many other bands have the exact same sound, but few execute as well as Skinless. The songwriting is diverse and strong, layering groove into thick, solid riffs. The vocals are belched out in a whole spectrum of growls, from the unintelligible vomit-style of the gore bands, to the evil screams of the Satan-loving crowd, and when all of the parts of this band are added up, it leaves a really solid base from which this band can grow.
To sum up, this album is just damn fun to listen to, even if it’s not going to change your life. The most exciting thing about it is the fact that this is a young band, and the potential they exhibit makes one wonder about what’s in store for this band. So put this album on, sit back, and have a beer, because this is the stuff it’s all about.
Death's Review:
"Sit back, slip on your absorbant undergarments, and let the mayhem begin."With a sense of humor like Impaled and a sound that is a cross between Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, early Death Immolation, Incantation, Suffication and probably a few other "-ation" bands I'm forgetting about, comes the Relapse debut of Skinless. New York Death Metal -- 'cept Skinless is from upstate in Albany. Who cares, they've still played Wetlands, CBGB's, etc., multiple times this year. And I've had a good time hanging out watching them do their thing on more than one occasion. Straight-up, glass-gurgling, microphone-swallowing, pit- inducing death metal. Sometimes it sure does hit the spot.
Yet Skinless even go 'ya one better. They bring their own perspective to the death metal genre as well, with a knack for a killer headbanging riff-quality and a bonecrushing slower pace (love the bass tone at the beginning of the slower riff (1:30 -ish?) on the opening title track and the other cool riff at about 3:10! Sick shit). Skinless know as much about Kreator and Slayer and Dark Angel's Leave Scars as they do any newer death metal models. Or so it would seem from the quality and stylings of some of their cooler multi-note riffs.
"Straight-up, glass-gurgling, microphone-swallowing, pit- inducing death metal." I like Skinless. So should you. Think Dark Angel meets Celtic Frost (2:00 into "Smothered," I just want to start punching people in the fucking face, by the next one at 3:25 and again at 3:50, I've fucking devastated the room and my neighbors are starting to wonder whether they're going to need to call the police, by the time things speed up again at the 4:40 mark, Skinless has totally and completely won me over), meets Death meets fucking technical precision amid incomprehensable chaos. This is a fun band to see live which I just learned to appreciate even more by getting my first taste of the band in a studio setting.
Hel's Review:
The beauty of the metal underground lies in many things. Primary among them is the live scene, which I get to experience quite frequently, since I live in a mecca for such things. Often, in this scene, you will encounter bands over and over again, and come to know their music without ever having heard a recording of them. This is how I came to know Skinless. Between the Metalfests and many club shows in NYC, I've lost track of how many times I've seen them, but I'm pretty sure I'm onto my other hand by now.
And I've liked them from the beginning, that's why I continually include them on my live rounds. Now Relapse snatches them up, and here we have an actual new label release for them. What does that mean, you ask? It means that everyone, regardless of geographic location, will now be able to pick it up with ease, no difficult mail order searches, etc. And guess what? I get to encounter another beautiful aspect of the underground - getting to experience facets of a band which you've missed before. This is a new performance format for me, and it reveals new things about Skinless that I never noticed live.
"The forecast calls for destruction tonight, death tomorrow, and Armageddon by the weekend - this could be the end of life, as we know it." Seven of the nine tracks on Foreshadowing Our Demise begin with a spoken spoof sample. Some sound like newscasters, others like movie clips. My favorite is the "weather" girl who kicks off "Smothered" by informing us that, "The forecast calls for destruction tonight, death tomorrow, and Armageddon by the weekend - this could be the end of life, as we know it." A close second is the intro to "Salvage What's Left", the crazy guy, chanting, "I want to kill everyone - Satan is good, Satan is our pal." These samples are a fraction of the frequently tongue-in-cheek sentiments found throughout the record. There is depth beyond that still façade of solid death metal. It makes things more interesting.
The other notable thing I learned from this record is that the sound, which I had always assumed was overly dirty and thick due to the crappy systems in the clubs, is duplicated on the record. My first reaction was: bad production - but now I wonder… Chicken or the egg? Did they record the album with dirty production to mimic the sound they always end up with by default in the live setting? Or has it been intentionally thick and sludgy the entire time? Hmmm…
"Personally, I suspect that, in time, Foreshadowing Our Demise will prove to be merely a foreshadowing of even better things to come." The point, my friends, is that while there is an abundance of great death metal bands today, Skinless is worthwhile on multiple levels. First and foremost, they play kick-ass death metal. Second, they put on a good live set. Third, they put out a good new album. Many of you have not had the benefit of seeing Skinless first-hand. You have get this album and listen to it very, very loudly. Then you can begin to understand. Those of you who have seen them live, you know the deal. And now it's easier than ever to take it home with you. Personally, I suspect that, in time, Foreshadowing Our Demise will prove to be merely a foreshadowing of even better things to come. A damn fine effort, and one that will hang around in my non-review listening pile.
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