Music: Folk Metal
Website: http://skycladmusic.co.uk
Duration: 38:48 minutes (10 songs)
Country: United Kingdom
When Martin Walkyier left the band and “A Semblance of Normality” came out I was kind of confused and disappointed, it wasn't the same rough band I used to know, though it was still good enough to deserve a place in my collection.
Some people may ignore the relevance of a band as SKYCLAD, an institution for Folk Metal, for sure. In a time when there were not so many drinking Metal songs coming from Scandinavia or Germany, these musicians from Newcastle released “The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth” (1990), an innovative album which would change the upcoming history.
Nowadays, we can miss Walkyier's vocals and lyrics but the heart of the band is still beating strongly great tunes. Steve Ramsey performs a magnificent lead guitar showing pure Trash Metal influences, just as it has always been. It's all about a delicate balance which some bands have never reached.
Fortunately, SKYCLAD's style is totally recognizable on this new album. Kevin Ridley accomplishes a very good job singing his ass off on every song. The traditional Heavy Metal base -without bombastic crap- is clearly revealed along this work, particularly on “Black Summer Rain”. On the other hand, the Folk melodies are carried out with accuracy and good taste. It couldn't be any other way, 18 years make them founders of true Folk metal.
I would pick “A well-traveled man” and “In The All Together” as the best songs, but it's hard to scorn any of the others. Lyrics are still smart and original, music is still a perfect blend of Metal guitars and Folk fiddles, it is still SKYCLAD, but this time they were a bit stingy: tracks are too short, you're barely enjoying one of them when it's fucking over and it happens again and again, songs hardly last on average 4 minutes but it feels like 2.
note: 8.5/10
Tracklist
01. Words Upon The Street
02. Still Small Beer
03. The Well-travelled Man
04. Black Summer Rain
05. Babakoto
06. Hit List
07. Superculture
08. Which Is Why
09. Modern Minds
10. In The… All Together
Line-up
Steve Ramsey (Guitar)
Kevin Ridley (Vocals, Guitar, Producer)
Graeme “Bean” English (Bass, Acoustic Guitar)
Georgina Biddle (Violin)
Arron “Big Boned” Walton (Drums)
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