Yes I admit SKELATOR have always been a guilty pleasure for me. Their ultra cheesy themes combined with the raw guitar driven metal sound is quite appealing yet sometimes a little cringing especially when I had to interact with more mature listeners. SKELATOR have been around in Seattle area for quite some time, making records every now and then and some of them have been exceptionally good (“Agents of Power”). And now after the (little bit) mediocre “King of Fear” are back with a real bone breaker.
So “Cyber Metal” is out and as far as I see, it has made quite an impact. The cheesy cover combined (which reminded me of good old Sergio Aragones) with the cheesy immature album titles is a kind of collateral for what I was about to hear. Unconventional, raw heavy power metal with lots of speed thrash references and a true 80’s mojo. The sound is massive, guitar driven with tons of harmonies, inspired riffing and melodic leads/solos while the vocals are a tribute to legends like John Cyriis, Gerrit P. Mutz and William Rodrick McKay.
As I mentioned earlier the riffing is quite inspired and the songwriting a step forward from the typical SKELATOR album. SKELATOR do not stray from their trademark sound yet the have managed to reach perfection in terms of inspiration, choruses and melodies. The 80’s heavy/thrash (ANTHRAX, HEXX, AGENT STEEL) influences mix with lots of 90s power metal (Iced Earth, Sacred Steel) and the overall result is an enjoyable non filler album which you can listen to again and again.
To sum up, should you think that you are too old for this shit, then perhaps you are and you should check out the new Dream Theatre stuff. But if you are still into impulsive, loud 80s metal then “Cyber metal” is the deal for you.
