| இவ Ice Vajal :: Music Land :: Metal World | ||
| Bands :: A-Z / S / Skyclad / | ||
- The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea - Volker Raabe - - Old Rope - Volker Raabe - - Oui Avantgarde A Chance - Volker Raabe - - Folkémon - Amir Djawadi -
Folkémon
(Nuclear Blast - 2000)
| |
Who is the band with the most innovative album titles? If you ask me, Skyclad are on the top of my list! In the past they had so ambiguity titles like The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea and Qui Avant-garde A Chance which surprised the metal fans, now the album title is allusion to the Pokemon characters which are a nowadays trend. The title Folkémon gives a hint as well as the cover artwork. Great joke of the British folk metal heads. But now let's talk about the music! Crazy English they call themselves, but you can also call them busy, coz every year they deliver a new album for the steadily growing fan following. Now they are back with 10 new tunes, this time the sextet from Newcastle is heavy rocking and has less folk elements then in the past. Songs like the opener The Great Brain Robbery or Crux Of The Message are full of energy and while listening to the album the wish to see them live is growing. Other tracks like The Disenchanted Forest are more doomy... Actually this time Georgina Biddle had more influence on the compositions. Her violin is a basic element of Skyclad's music, but this time a little more in front. The metal elements are added by guitarist Steve Ramsey and / or drummer Jay Graham and add their own style to the musical melange. Exactly this mixture makes Skyclad special and outstanding. Surely bass player Graeme English and second guitarist Kevin Ridley who also produces the band for quite awhile do their best to make this outstanding. But sympathetic frontman Martin Walkyier is the topping on the musical mixture and his lyrics crown them. Intelligent lyrics are not offered by every band. This CD has the potential to become another milestone in the catalogue of the Newcastle-based band. Soon they will hit the road again and live everybody should have seen them at least once! |
| |
The British Skyclad show that they aren't just another metal band. They get attention even in other musical genres. On Oui Avantgarde A Chance the Newcastle quartet are more folk-oriented which is obvious at songs like Great Blow For A Day Job or Constance Eternal. But don't expect that the next album of the four-some will sound the same, it's just their way to proof that heavy metal can be more then just pure heavy metal. On this album you can also find a cover version of Dexy's Midnight Runners Come On Eileen which was recorded with a little help of Subway To Sally members. So, check it out!!! |
| |
Looks like someone will make money with the publishing rights of the Skyclad compositions!?!? And the fans shall pay... I just can recommend to buy the original CDs of this outstanding band! A compilation like Old Rope can't represent the genius and the musical rank inside the genre of a band like Skyclad. Especially because there are almost old songs on this compilation. |
| |
Between the numerous high class releases of these days Skyclad's new album don't leave the best impression.... The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea isn't a bad album, but can't cope with their last release. The complex song structures don't make it easy for the listener to get into the folk metal melodrama. A good example for that is Jeopardy. Beside that George Biddle replaced Fritha Jenkins on the violin and lead guitarist Steve Ramsay suffered from a sudden feeling of faintness during the production. And last, not least instruments and equipment of the band was destroyed or stolen from the Lynx Studio. The costs: More then 30,000 British Pounds! Seems that the folk metal band wasn't wandering under a lucky star in 1995.... Anyway, well done! |
| ©2008-2010 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com |
