After three years the French death metalheads Skelethal have returned with their second full-length album “Unveiling the Threshold” with the help of the music label Hells Headbangers. They’ve stayed true to themselves within the range of chosen style, playing relentless and rapid death metal with a focus on the good old death metal of 1990s. And they do it efficiently and without compromises.
France isn’t famous for primitive death metal bands; French scene rather is distinguished by its refinement, technicality and avant-garde mindset (like the bands Gorod or Hacride). Skelethal is oriented on Swedish school of death metal; they are closer to such bands as Entombed or Dismember. These deathsters are not fond of experiments or unusual tricks, they just play this rough and traditional death metal without impurities, making their music intense and confident.
“Unveiling the Threshold” sounds tremendously harmonically and in integral manner, every instrument is so appropriate and relevant, that technically there’s absolutely nothing to complain about, not to mention with what vigor and confidence every musician plays. Thick and catchy guitar riffs, beautiful technical solos, deep and slightly muted growling, expressed bass guitar lines and the solid drumming work, yeah, this album is literally charged with energy and certainty. The guitar chords play the main role structurally, they are at the forefront, and despite their primitivism, they are so easy to catch with. Generally, the songs are furiously fast, only “Emerging From The Ethereal Threshold” and “On Somber Soil” are slower, but every song has a couple of slow-downs, highlighting the following insanely speedy aggression. These decelerations of tempo come with some kind of changes, “Adorned With The Black Vetebra” draws near doom-death influence, but “Antropomorphia” has some psychedelic vibes. The songs are very lively and frolic, and sometimes this death/thrash metal reminds of the concept of death’n’roll, making them more positive (like “Antropomorphia”). The strangest part on this record belongs to the last song “Abyssal Church… The Portal Revealed” due to its acoustic passages, but altogether it still fits to the concept of the album.
Despite the fact, that Skelethal plays classical death metal, their music doesn’t sound straight from the 90s, because it still has a modern sounding with a slight groove impact. So, the ability to combine competently the modern attitude within such uncompromising and pure style like old school death metal is extremely precise and exquisite. And though the genre of death metal isn’t so fresh nowadays, there still exist such bands as Skelethal, which are able to keep it afloat without nostalgic blasts.
Release date: November 20th, 2020
https://www.facebook.com/skelethal/
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