By Jonathan Smith
Hamilton, ON-based project Skull (organized by JC Boudreau) has made its first collection available, and it’s an entertaining hour of minimalist, “down-and-dirty”metal that only gets better as the tracks go by. Things lurch about quite slowly and consistently here, with a crunchy down-tuned guitar as the main focus. (Former Chokehold singer) Chris Logan’s vocals are just part of the mix, his lyrics largely inaudible through his strangled outbursts and ruminating grunts and growls. Played all the way through, there is barely a second’s hesitation between songs. As such, the album flows together into one long rhythmic, down-tempo doom fest. The latter half of the album utilizes some effects and extra touches, such as a swell of ambient background noise on “A Touch of Sun” and a few melodic female vocals on “Rising Above The Horizons.” While a few more of these sorts of touches would be welcome, their brief appearances make them all the more significant. The fun doesn’t stop with the audio album either, as there are extra MP3 files to be found on the CD. Skull has come forward with a promising first album, and it will be exciting to see what Boudreau and his crew do with their next effort.
http://www.myspace.com/jcskull
(Self-released)
