Skeletonwitch - Breathing The Fire

Published October 22 2009

*=Staff's pick	Submit To The Suffering Longing For Domination Where The Light Has Failed Released From The Catacombs Stand Fight And Die The Despoiler Of Human Life Crushed Beyond Dust* Blinding Black Rage Gorge Upon My Soul* Repulsion Salvation* Strangled By The Unseen Hands* ...And Into The Flame

Genre	Thrash Metal	Chance Garnett	Vocals
Tracks	12	Nate Garnett	Guitar
Runningtime	36 Min.	Scott Hedrick	Guitar
Label	Prosthetic Records	Evan Linger	Bass
Release	13 October 2009	Derrick Nau	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Evile, Hatchet, Witchery

Less publicized than its contemporary brother movement, the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, and arguably even more talented, the current thrash revival has started to hit its stride in the past few years. Unlike bands of yesteryear that would push bastard half-thrash grooves, or see acts trying to be fast merely for brutality's sake, the current crop of young headbangers make no apologies about wearing their Bay Area influences on their sleeve, Skeletonwitch being chief amongst them.

Hailing from Athens, Ohio, Skeletonwitch undoubtedly sounds like an authentic Bay Area thrash act, complete with old-school, bare bones production, and certainly do an admirable job of paying homage to bands of years past. However, on the whole, straight-up, vanilla thrash is actually a rather uninspired genre of metal, with few bands having the chops to pull it off interestingly (Anthrax) or progressiveness and songwriting to transform into something more cerebral (Metallica). While other bands of the thrash revival tend to fall into this trap, albeit played competently and aggressively to be sure, Skeletonwitch is able to bring something different to the table.

Skeletonwitch's biggest strength lay not in their quality aping of their inspirations, but rather their creative use of black metal vocals combined with New Wave of British Heavy Metal-esque leads in addition to aggressive guitar riffs and drum patterns. These qualities are all present on Breathing the Fire, and played with conviction and authenticity, but something feels lacking...

Maybe I'm jaded, but the fire and inspiration heard on the band's outstanding previous release, Beyond the Permafrost, seem to be absent. The playing is fast, and the riffing is heavy, but ultimately the work on this album feels derivate, covering old territory in a way that is not as well-excuted as its predecessor. Stylistically, Breathing the Fire is cut from the same cloth as previous releases, only adding more frequent use of melodic death metal elements like tremolo picking, and a slightly thicker and more deep vocal mix.

Skeletonwitch's latest release is a quality, if sterile, slab of authentic thrash, and certainly at the top of the modern crop of bands. However, if this young band from Ohio truly want to bring it to the next level, they're going to have to do more than release the same record in a different flavor, and become more mature as songwriters.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8,5	7	8	8	7

Summary
8 chalices of 10 - Dux

This was a highly anticipated release, but it falls short in too many ways. All the music is derivative of a myriad of other thrashcore acts. There are no real catchy songs, and the length is too brief. I expected so much more. Skeletonwitch will be eclipsed by 3 Inches Of Blood and their ilk. //Michael the MettleAngel (6 of 10)