Skinbag humbly walk through this disc drawing heavy influence from the past and cramming it into a progressive moody metal/hard rock combo that doesn't come off nostalgic. Dampened vocals rule the sonically challenging nest of music the band has built for itself, ripe with headstrong grooves and hardened rhythms the band sounds like a bastardized child of Rush and older Soundgarden with some modern edge thrown in for good measure. Vocals consist of a warm medium voice that can remind a bit of Kyuss without the stoner rock ideals thrown in. Never breaking a note, a strong focus on melody is put forth with confident pitch changes and a steady course plotted, which gives the band a solidarity lacking in music today. Flush with skill and sounding influenced from singers of days passed without coming off cheesy or cock rock, its a welcome change to hear someone that can remind of older bands and still have enough punch included to give the listener a satisfying verbal haymaker. Guitars deal with friendly tones that face off with a distortion that doesn't offend, but is by no means conservative, as it juts out everything from slyly planned solo's to raspy riffs, robust with a menacing technique and structure. Skipping the pages of downtuned experimental rock the chords struck here are quite groove heavy and build a solid support beam for the vocals to rest on while prodding the songs forward. Bass is tuned a bit lower than expected and hits with an almost bluesy nature coiling with slippery riffs that are abrupt and connected tightly with the guitar. Taking the role of backup their attention to the song rather than trying to stick out, works out quite smoothly and propels each verse forward with a dull rumble. Drums are moderately tuned and jump into the middle of things with snare heavy beats and crisp cymbal work that shows off some unexpected rolls and synchronized splash/kick drum hits that give the music a balanced appeal and a touch of class. Very heady and dark at times the bands music is pretty straight forward, there's density provided by the instruments rather than song structure and whether they are ripping through a few effect covered bars or thrusting a song through the speakers with a downtrodden hard rock honesty, the music they create sounds unexplainably right. While groups like Queens Of The Stone Age are busy wasting braincells with songs of indulgence, Skinbag seemingly take path of the prophet slamming home groove laden harmony and weathered ability to create an introspective breed of catchy feel good music that dabbles enough in the past and the present to endure the test of time. Perhaps the only fault present here is the general lack of vivid contrast or dynamics, which can result in the tracks having a hard time separating themselves from one another. Skinbag may have a misleading name, conjuring up images of black metal or murderous ideals, but don't be fooled, this four piece serves up mature no bullshit modern metal with enough experience from the forefathers to paint a fully developed strain of intelligence and longevity that can easily surf over the tide of cliche nu metal bands clogging up the CD shelves.
(4 / 5)