Hey there tech-fiends, I hope you all enjoyed last week's early Hadal Maw stream as much as I did. Next Tuesday will center around another early stream, while a review of the newly released Skeptic album fills today's space. Before we dive into it, here's the usual weekly reminder that all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Albany, New York-based technical death metal group Skeptic recently dropped their supremely headbang-friendly debut, Worship The End. Just take a moment briefly and take in the fantastic and eye-popping album artwork courtesy of artist Shawn Knight (Child Bite). While there’s plenty of killer leads and solos throughout Worship The End, the band’s sound deviates considerably from the typical technical death metal mold. Skeptic was a fairly new band to me upon hearing this, although I grew quite interested in them the more time I spent with Worship The End.
About half of their sound seems to from a mix of The Black Dahlia Murder, melodeath, black metal in small spurts, and a lot of Revocation-meets-Death style thrash influences. Not only does this help the band create music with a different twist on the typical sound, but Skeptic wisely use it to their advantage by crafting their songs around constant shifts between the more tech-death, melodeath, and thrashy sides of their music. I'm sure some will lament the lack of "true" tech-death as the overall core of this album, but for me, that's precisely what makes it interesting and worthy of checking out. For a debut full-length, I think Worship The End showcases a group who are headed in a good direction, even more so if they can grow and evolve between now and their next release. Keep an eye on these guys. If you dig what you're hearing, Worship The End can be purchased through the Skeptic Bandcamp page. Be sure to follow the group over on their Facebook page too.
