The Skull have always been a pretty fascinating band for me, formed out of the ashes of one of the greats, they have now fully integrated into the modern doom scene, pulling in current and former members of Witch Mountain and Pentagram (among others) to create a lineup that simply can't help but impress. There is a certain sort of regal poetry to their self titled EP. The confident trudge forward, the delicate acoustics and the dueling guitars all helping to contribute to an altar of madness.
With The Skull we see that the band is starting to really come into their own and figure out what defines the band. Yes there are a lot of elements of Trouble – former vocalist Eric Wagner and bassist Ron Holzner make up 2/5 of The Skull – but the way the band executes their songs, with Lothar Keller's Randy Rhoads-esque guitar solos battling against Rob Wrong's moody masterpieces alongside surreal and evil chord progressions helps to prove that this band has transcended all previous limitations. Ethereal and wonderfully moody, The Skull is an album you can get lost in despite its relatively straightforward attack.
Simply put, The Skull is made up of some of the realest motherfuckers alive and the music reflects that. These are dudes who live and breathe rock and roll and the more you invest in their sound the more you get out of it. Groovy and terrifying, but also a little fun The Skull is a doom record you can almost dance to. Sure, it would be a fucked up, demonic dance, but it would be a dance nonetheless. The Skull is taking doom metal by storm and are about to conquer the globe, so you can embrace the triumph of this latest EP or hope it all blows over. But trust me, it won't.
Overall: 8.5/10
