Skullkrusher
Bestial Evil-live
[Chanteloup Creations]


Total cheese thrash metal from members of Warloghe and Horna, apparently. Much like acts like Metalucifer, this outfit peddles their metal with a distinct tongue-in-cheek, self-parodical ethic, something that has served to annoy a whole host of people of late, and that has been termed ‘beer metal attitude’ by many of its detractors. As such, Skullkrusher has this attitude in abundance, and while it does irritate more often than it incites laughter, one must remember that it’s all in the name of filthy, lowbrow fun, something that has been lost in today’s metal circuit.

Musically, this is, if I might coin a cliché, nothing to write home about. Incredibly contrived and mindless speed/thrash metal with rudimentary riffs, haphazard drumming, Schmier-esque screeches and the most stereotypical titles/lyrics this side of Gehennah. If I were to compare this band with another, I’d say that this is perhaps a toned-down amalgam of Living Death (especially the vocal approach), Destructor, Piledriver and Morningstar, though more basic than any of those outfits. Riffs are incredibly chunky ie Morningstar, and drone on for lengths of two-three minutes, often with little variation. Some passages even vaguely remind of Razor and Destroyer 666’s thrashier moments, though not half as inspired as either outfit. I think it’s safe to say that I’m not too enamoured of this outfit, and even more so when you consider that both sides consist of basically the same tracks, recorded at different locations. The singer’s between-song diatribe is equally ridiculous, what with his metal god posing and hilarious exclamations.

Still, there is still a healthy portion of good thrash riffs on show, it’s just a matter of your desire to ingest the other side of the equation, the extreme aura of cheese surrounding the release, and the self-parodical element of it all. However, one must applause Skullkrusher for revelling in low brow and degrading metalhead humour. The capacity for intentional self-parody is always appreciated with me, and it’s indeed uplifting to see ‘Tom Angelfucker’ pounding the drums, haha. As I said, it’s entirely your decision if you want to pick up this release, it’s an issue of duality.

[6.5]


© 2000 equimanthorn