SKULL71

ACHERON, Satanic Supremacy (2008, Frozen Darkness Productions)

The skull:
Just the straight-up Totenkopf insignia of the Nazi SS. As if the association wasn’t obvious enough, the initial “S”es in the title are rendered in the sig runes used by the Schutzstaffel as well. You’d be forgiven for thinking Acheron were some kind of racist NS band, but as far as I know, they’re just ridiculous Satanists trying to make some kind of point.

The music:
Acheron is one of those bands that’s just always been around. I’ve been dutifully passing over their albums in used CD bins for my entire life as a heavy metal enthusiast. They’re hardly the worst band out there, but their no-frills, old school death metal just doesn’t so anything for me. When I tracked down some mp3s of this cassette, I initially assumed it was one of their early demos, maybe from the late 80s, before realizing this is, shockingly, a recording from 2008. It’s a cassette tape for fuck’s sake! From 2008. You’d never know it from the sound, or the music, or the lyrics, which are of high school quality, that this was produced so recently. It cannot be said that Acheron don’t stick to their guns, though, as this demo pushes the same mid-tempo Tampa DM sound the band has been working since the beginning (even if they’re doing it from Ohio, now.) All three of these songs were rerecorded for the band’s next (and to date latest) album, so I guess if you want to hear them with a little more polish, you can listen to them on The Final Conflict: Last Days of God. But, I doubt you do.
— Friar Johnsen

SKULL64

Zandelle, Zandelle (1996, demo)

The skull:
Black cover, logo, skull, deep shadows. Textbook! He’s certainly angry looking, with the faint red glow in his sockets and the blood dripping from his teeth (fangs?) onto his chin. He looks like he was painted without reference material, just from the memory of other big dumb skulls. Seriously tr00. And for as crappy as this skull is, the band actually recycled it for their 2011 release Shadows of the Past, which featured re-recorded versions of songs from this and other early demos. That cover repeats the skull several times, though, disqualifying it for inclusion in the Skullection.

The music:
In the mid 90s, there weren’t many bands in the States playing old fashioned melodic heavy metal. One of those was Gothic Knights, and when their singer (George Tsalikis) left after releasing one album with the band, he jumped into Zandelle. Neither band was ever very good, sounding like bands that weren’t quite good enough to make Metal Massacre 8, but their hearts were in the right place, I guess. The riffing is dull, the drumming bland, and the songs cliche, but at least the singer was actually singing, and not just trying to out-aggro Rob Flynn, as was the fashion in those days. This sort of too-true-for-school stuff is just too backwards looking for me most of the time, and Zandelle is no exception, but this does take me back to those days when any metal song with a melody line was enough to perk the ears.
— Friar Johnsen

SKULL45

REPUGNANT, Hecatomb (1999, To The Death)

The skull:
Small, but feisty, this little guy looks a bit cracked up and leers dumbly at you with his one eye. While the Council ordinarily disqualifies skulls that are obviously a part of a larger skeleton, the tiny fragment of spine, unencumbered by shoulder blades or any other bony bits, was found to not distract from the centrality of the skull. Considering the emptiness of the cover, it is felt that the skull could have been bigger, but since “hecatomb” originally meant the sacrificial slaughter of 100 cattle, the dumbness of this singular skull compensated for its meager smallness.

The music:
Formed in 1998, Repugnant more or less labored in obscurity, but if they had been formed a decade earlier, they would have been immediately signed to Earache, sounding as they do on this EP like a cross between Nihilist and Terrorizer (in their less blasty moments), with dashes of early Death and Celtic Frost. Considering how well worn this territory was then and continues to be, Repugnant pull it off with striking conviction and integrity. The production is raw, and certainly evocative of the era Hecatomb means to recall, but it’s also not off-puttingly retro or lo-fi. The drumming is lively and competent in a modern sense, without affecting the old-school sound of the beats. Amusingly, singer and guitarist Mary Goore was also in the retro sleaze metal act Crashdïet, which shows that as a heavy metal nostalgia hound, his tastes run the gamut. As long as the style is outdated, he’s into it.
— Friar Johnsen

SKULL20

DORSAL ATLANTICA, Antes Do Fim (1986, Lunário Perpétuo)

The skull:
The skull is hammered full of nails and staples, but it’s the eyes that draw you in! The eyes say it all, or at least all that needs to be said: “This is the worst.”

The music:
Typical, if not prototypical, of early Brazilian thrash, Antes do Fim serves up a sloppy mix of Slayer and the German three. Unpleasant production and incredibly boring drumming dominate. While this Friar can certainly appreciate the historical significance of Dorsal Atlantica (and has always loved their name), he cannot admit to actually liking them. The band reconvened in the mid aughts to re-record this album, and that version is certainly a more enjoyable listening experience, but even so, it’s hard to call this an essential album in any form.
– Friar Johnsen

SKULL12

DEAD & BLOATED, You Don’t (1992, Colossal)

The skull:
Xs in the eyes are a visual trope of longstanding precedence to indicate deadness, but affixing them to a skull seems a rather redundant indulgence. The tentacles sprouting from the dome remind me of those ridiculous hats that Xtreme teenage snowboarders (and the guitarist from Panzerballett) are sometimes known to wear, and the entire design looks like it was crafted with an eye toward the band having to silkscreen it themselves. A rather slovenly cover overall, with a skull lacking in bigness but compensating with extra dumbness.

The music:
Quirky (at least aspirationally) crossover thrash recorded at least a couple years after that was even a marginally good idea. The bass plays an enjoyably prominent role in the mix, but the vocals are a terrible Mille-esque caterwaul, and the thin grooves and clunky riffs situate Dead & Bloated in the fourth-tier musical company of Ironchrist and Doomwatch.
– Friar Johnsen

SKULL5

WITCHFINDER GENERAL, Live ’83 (2006, Nuclear War Now! Productions)

The skull:
Simple white skull and white lettering on black background. As unadorned as it gets, except for the tiny nuances: fangs and flames burning in the eye sockets. Total horizontal egg as skullcap. Appropriately old-school looking for this ancient doom metal recording.

The music:
The first pressing of this live album was altered to make the songs sound slower than was actually the case. Or maybe it was a mistake. Regardless, listening to the truest version of this recording, it’s a raw but entirely listenable document of Witchfinder General at their peak. Most songs are represented from the band’s first two and only worthwhile albums, and it’s testament that they, along with Saint Vitus, Nemesis and Trouble, were among the most important doom bands to emerge from the early ’80s underground. Great band who apparently brought the goods live. Hilarious stage banter from vocalist Zeeb Parkes in the beginning of the 10-minute “Quietus”: “For anybody that likes real heavy rock, this is gonna be the number!” Uh, hey, thanks for letting us know. He should have also let us know about the too-long and too-boring unaccompanied guitar solo at the end.
— Friar Wagner

SKULL2

PARALEX, White Lightning (1980, Reddingtons Rare Records)

The skull:
This is the first of several Worried Skulls in the Skullection. Looks like he’s fretting about something, perhaps because he forgot an umbrella, which he’ll need for that oncoming storm behind him. Super-crude artwork lacking all imagination, although there’s a nice bit brightness in the skull’s eyes, making his worried self look just that little bit more paranoid.

The music:
If I found this 12″ EP cheap, I’d buy the shit out of it and immediately re-sell it for big money.This is the kind of junk that New Wave of British Heavy Metal collectors uphold and praise, but probably because of its rarity rather than its musical quality. These three songs are what the British might call “naff”: trashy music, stumbling vocals, generic song writing. Maybe would have sounded dark and heavy in 1980, but it can’t compete with the stuff that was already around in 1980 and already 100 times better (Angel Witch, Iron Maiden). As obscure NWOBHM bands go, there are way better. The perfect pairing: a big dumb skull, big dumb music.
— Friar Wagner