Skinless - Only The Ruthless Remain

Published May 27 2015

*=Staff's pick	Serpenticide Only The Ruthless Remain Skinless* Flamethrower The Beast Smells Blood* Funeral Curse Barbaric Proclivity

Genre	Death Metal	Sherwood Webber	Vocals
Tracks	7	Noah Carpenter	Guitar
Running time	35 Min.	Dave Matthews	Guitar
Label	Relapse Records	Joe Keyser	Bass
Release	June 02, 2015	Bob Beaulac	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboard
Producer	-
Similar artists	Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Immolation

When I found out Skinless had reformed, hopes were raised of a comeback album worthy of 2006's magnificent 'Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead'. The underground New York band never brought much new to the table - anyone familiar with Suffocation, Immolation and Dying Fetus knew what to get. What made Skinless stand out amongst hundreds of similar sounding brutal death metal bands were the sparse technical extravaganzas in favour of a more straightforward groove-oriented sound along with superior songwriting. All of it culminated on the aforementioned masterpiece.

In strict musical terms not much has changed on 'Only the Ruthless Remain', we are still talking pure New York-styled brutal death metal here. Unfortunately apart from Webber's ever superb vocals, this is in no way a worthy follower to 'Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead'. The edge, hunger and composing skills that made that album magnificent is sadly lacking on this one. Many of the riffs are forgettable and the inspiration that once was there is lost on many parts of the album.

Some of the songs seem to be composed on strict routine and the hunger that was once there can only be recalled on some of the tracks like 'Skinless' and 'The Beast Smells Blood'. Those are on the other hand quite strong songs indeed and save this album from being a total disaster. Combined with 'Flamethrower' and 'Funeral Curse' they would have made a decent EP, still not that close to the glory of 2006 though.

'Only the Ruthless Remain' is an uneven creation with some strong points, but even more mediocre ones. A sad statement from the band that once made the earth trembles with 'Trample the Dead, Hurdle the Dead'. If you are totally obsessed with every death metal wax that ever came from the state of New York and/or a long-time fan of the band; you might give this a shot or two. If neither applies to you, well, you should have figured out by now which Skinless album to listen to instead.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	3	7	8	5

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - Tengan