Description
Strictly limited (100 in europe) Silver version of classic prosthetic records album Beyond the Permafrost's unapologetically metal cover art alone is sure to earn the scorn of musical hipsters everywhere, but the sheer ferocity and white-knuckled velocity of swords-and-sorcery thrash anthems like "Upon Wings of Black," "Sacrifice for the Slaughtergod," and "Fire from the Sky" will have those who stick around crying out for Mommy! If not that, then the fearsome vocals of Chance Garnette should do the trick, as he alternates between guttural death growls and higher-pitched black metal screeches, both performed with equal measures of wild-eyed excitement. Make no mistake, however, it's really twin guitar terrors Nate Garnette and Scott Hedrick who captain Skeletonwitch's Man o' War, both dominating and defining the band's high-energy assault with positively carnivorous riffs, tightly intertwined with frenzied lead licks. And even though they rarely require more than two or three minutes to state their cases (much like similarly inspired Canadian brethren 3 Inches of Blood), Skeletonwitch do know how to operate at sub-light speed, bringing welcome variety of tempo and attack to adventure metal quests such as "Baptized in Flames," "East Into the to the Open Sea," and "Remains of the Defeated," where those melodic, N.W.O.B.H.M. influences really shine through.