Skeletonwitch – Forever Abomination

It is always a pleasure to listen to relatively new bands that are full of energy and passion, and that are playing very damn good. There are many such bands in our days in every subcategory of metal. Bands that have the thirst to play the music they love and that want to become as good as they can. Skeletonwitch is an example of such a band. They were formed in Ohio, in 2003 and they are playing killer blackened thrash. Their 3 previous releases were very good and the band seemed to become better in every record. Now, 2 years after their previous release, Skeletonwitch are back with their new album, “Forever Abomination”. Which is definitely, the best album they have released so far!

“Forever Abomination” is a record that will blow your mind. It is an “in your face” record that contains 11 songs, none of which is a filler. Blackened thrash played with energy and passion, from a band that knows what is doing. It is obvious that Skeletonwitch have worked hard in order to produce this album, but it is clear that the final result deserved this effort. In this record you will find a combination of 80’s style thrash metal with great black metal. You will also notice a couple of melodic death metal elements that fit very good with the music of the band, and make it even more interesting. The band has written a couple of great melodies here. 9 out the 11 songs of the album last less than 3 minutes, and that shows the immediacy of “Forever Abomination”. You will not get bored while listening to this record. For example songs like “Of Ash And Torment” (great intro riff), “Erased And Forgotten”, “The Horrifying Force” and so on, are kick-ass songs that make adrenaline hit red! The vocals of Chance Garnette are killer. The guitarists of the band have also made very good work in this record and they have written some great riffs, melodies and solos. The bass is also very good. The drums are excellent. The drummer of the band, Dustin Boltjes (that’s his first album with Skeletonwitch; he is the replacer of the previous drummer of the band, Derrick “Mullet Chad” Nau), plays great stuff in this album and his drumming takes the songs of the band a level above. The album also has very good and heavy sound.

Overall, “Forever Abomination” is a killer album from a band that becomes better and better as time passes. I am sure that the songs would sound even better in the live performances of the band and I hope we have the chance to see them in the near future. Until then, “Forever Abomination” will be a very good company when we want to warm our necks with some headbanging!