Ever heard about Shed The Skin? Never did I. But you know, this band’s line-up might be known, believe me. The vocals are done by Ash Thomas of Crucified Mortals / Vladimirs-fame, the drums by Kyle Severn (think: Wolfen Society, Acheron, Funerus and, last but not least, Incantation), and Matt Sorg (Dead Of Night, Decrepit, Blood Of Christ, Ringworm, From The Depths) took care of the guitars. This sounds quite impressive, I think. But it does not necessarily mean that the result of such collaboration equals the curriculum vitae of the members’ past experiences.
But I’m pleased to assure you that this mutual effort does impress. Mighty Hells Headbangers Records do release a 7”EP with two songs recorded for this vinyl edition exclusively, and the recording result was mastered by no one else but Dan Swanö (!). In general, both pieces bring a rather traditional, timeless and universal form of Death Metal with quite some elements from both the Swedish and the American scene. No, please do not expect to hear something totally new, because you will get not. As a matter of fact, there’s so little originality, that I somewhat could predict each single accord / note yet to come when listening to this sh*t the very first time. But does it matter? No, not necessarily. However, in general this material cannot truly convince me; it does not blow me away at all. Though, there is one exception, and that’s the very beginning of Skaphe Of Christ …, which truly is a master’piece’ with its ominous synth atmospheres and doomy elegance. So, it is somewhat confusing to notice such abyssal grandeur at first, before continuing with somewhat ‘average’ all-time Death malignancy