Release
date: September
28th
2018. Label: Art
As Catharsis.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
FEAR
– Tracklisting
1.Escape
03:21
2.Fear
To Hide 10:18
3.Forgiving
07:10
4.Next
Earth 05:30
5.Bleak
19:24
Members
Liam
Young - Drums, Vocals
Jay
Marriott - Guitar
Mitch
Strickland - Bass
Review
Skullcave
are a very band to describe as their sound encompasses so many
different genres. You have Grunge, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner
Metal, Post-Metal and even Shoegaze. Their sound is very dark and
unique. They classify themselves as Doom-Gaze and whilst that’s
true to a point, their sound has hidden depths in both creativity and
maximum volume.
Their
debut album – FEAR – is aptly named as you don’t know what to
expect on the album. The album feels inspired by bands such as Alice
In Chains, Pallbearer, Mastodon and YOB. Though delve further into
the overall landscape of the album, Skullcave manage to create their
own individual sound. If these guys were around in the 90s Alt
Rock/Grunge scene then I would have no doubt they would have been
HUGE.
The
album itself starts off rather timidly with the opening song –
Escape. A slow-tempo drone/alt-rock number that builds upto a huge
momentum that sadly doesn’t materialize. What this song does is
show you the building blocks on what this album is built upon. A
distorted and cold industrial sound that promises something bigger on
the rest of the album.
Second
track – Fear To Hide – starts really slowly before building upto
a heavy wall of distorted guitars that brings in the other musical
aspects that Skullcave rely upon. This song definitely has a
“DOOM-GAZE” feel but wait for a few minutes and the pissed off
vocals from Liam appear. Skullcave venture into Neurosis/ISIS (The
Band) territory but with a menacing Sludge/Grunge Rock approach.
The
production of FEAR is quite raw and unpolished. The album has more a
LIVE ALBUM approach in both terms of production and delivery. I mean
this as a compliment. The overall sound is quite fearless and murky
which makes this album even more compelling.
Third
track – Forgiving – starts off very different to the last song
with Skullcave playing a heavy industrial/doom/sludge/post-whatever
riff that is centred around Liam’s vocals. The lyrics are
hard-hitting and cut right down to the bone. The slow-stop-start
approach of the music is quite good but can be very off-putting at
times. The clean vocals is a nice touch but the song truly comes
alive when Skullcave opt for the heavier atmosphere for everything
including the vocals.
The
final two songs – Next Earth and Bleak – is where Skullcave
create the best and heaviest moments on the album. As the music
becomes bleaker though with brief moments of uplifting rock/metal
music.
The
final song Bleak lasts for almost 20 minutes and it shows you the
true vision of Skullcave’s music. As they lay everything on the
line here both creatively and emotionally.
FEAR
is an album that I didn’t really enjoy at first. I thought it was
too clever for it’s own good. I only began to admire the album with
many repeated listens and then the album slowly started becoming a
firm favourite of mine. So give yourself time with this album. As
it’s not the most easiest album to listen to and I applaud
Skullcave for releasing something different and one that’s not
afraid to challenge people’s perceptions of heavy music.
FEAR is a stunning debut album and one you won’t forget about in a long time….
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Art
As Catharsis for
the promo. FEAR
is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl now via Art As Catharsis.
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