There comes a time in a person’s life when they first get exposed to witness such a fascinating musical journey of finding numerous genres they either stick to one for all eternity, or be like others and witness other realms of extreme music. Today I’ll be going over the latest offering of Blood Empire by the band Skelator which is going to be released through Gates Of Hell Records. For those unaware of Skelator, they’ve been active in the scene since 1998 by vocalist and founder of the band Jason Conde-Houston. Skelator’s musical style is very interesting and it caught me by a instant surprise knowing that this band is heavily influenced by new wave of British heavy metal acts but they play a contemporary, modern, authentic and classic infused style of speed metal but also incorporating elements of thrash, heavy metal and some progressive layers here and there.
What really made me intrigued by Skelator’s music is not just because they’re from my neck of the woods, but their signature blend, arrangements and detail into blending multiple genres into one cohesive and well structured release made it abundantly clear that this band definitely deserves your immediate attention. Right off the band, this record is full of catchy melodies, thrashy paced guitar strings, great melodic passageways and vocals giving that heavy metal ambitious feeling to make this album a little different this time around. Musicianship wise, it is fantastic with every member contributing their respective instruments giving it a nice chance to shine and adding progression and immense talent to the band’s devotion for metal music is really one of the strongest components on the album.
I will say tracks like Good Day To Die and Deeds Of Honor really showcases the band’s thrashy side of things with guitar tremolo pickings, speed metal drum like stylings and vocals providing a aggressive, yet heroic approach to really bring all sorts of unique experimentation is all over the radar start to finish. Even the bass tonality and production here is really solid with the closing track Bloodwine reminded me of a episode from Star Trek if you took the cyber space themes and mixing it with the 1980s visual appeal of He-Man directly from the television show I think many fans who are into the shoes or music as a whole will definitely get a kick out of it.
For only a four track EP, Blood Empire is all about sheer love and I truly believe that the future of Skelator is brighter than ever before.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Review by Jake Butler
