Skullovich are a band who has been on my radar since their 2019 inception, largely because I’ve conversed with singer, guitarist, mastermind, and all around good dude, Chevy McQuaide, via Facebook for years now. Hell, I was the one who added the band to the coveted (at least that’s what they’ll tell you) Metal Archives to begin with upon the release of their debur demo in 2021. The ripping “Flames of Chaos” showed great promise, making myself and others within the underground eager to hear with this band was fully capable of. A few years and scattered demos/singles later, we have our answer in the form of the band’s debut album, The Age of Steel.
I’m of the disposition that one should never judge a book, or in this case, album, by its cover. If we were to do so with The Age of Steel, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a US power metal affair, and that’s no coincidence. Whereas most thrash bands have long since exhausted the same old, same old tropes of devilry, nuclear holocaust, and beer, Skullovich take a very unique approach to their thrashing attack, both musically and lyrically. Within the grooves of The Age of Steel are tales of dungeons and dragons, warlords and wizards, and every other fantastical being one could fathom.
Now don’t get it twisted; when Skullovich thrash, they thrash hard. The opening one-two punch of the re-recorded “Flames of Chaos” and the pummeling “By This Axe I Rule” come off as a wicked cross between Sentence of Death era Destruction and Feel the Fire era Overkill. It’s wild blackened thrash, guaranteed to get the mosh pit raging, but without adhering to the norms of Bathory’s self titled debut. Other highlights of this nature include the feral epic thrash of “Under a Spell” and unabashed Show No Mercy era Slayer worship of “Death Dealer”, which might be my favorite cut on here for its thrashing simplicity.
On the flip side of this coin is a band bursting at the seams with USPM, epic metal, and progressive metal influence. It’s an approach that one would assume is diametrically opposite to the neck-snapping brute force of thrash, and yet Skullovich fuses the two in a way that headbangers can’t ignore. “Keeper of Fate” enchants with its epic aura, which especially takes charge during its latter Manilla Road-esque half. The doomy chug and otherworldly atmosphere of the title track see the band go full Cirith Ungol mode, yet perhaps the biggest surprise is the closing instrumental, “Dungeon Crawler”. Closing an album with an 8+ minute instrumental is a gutsy move for any band. A thrash band? Unless your name is “Metallica” and the year is 1984, good luck. That being said, “Dungeon Crawler” shockingly works, boasting brilliant musicianship without coming off as overtly technical.
If there’s one descriptor that can’t be used to describe The Age of Steel, it’s “generic”. Skullovich have crafted a wildly unique album amidst a sea of comfortable familiarity, one that’s guaranteed to reveal new hidden arcane treasures with each subsequent listen. It toes the line between yesterday and today, sounding straight out of metal’s mid ’80s glory days, yet without sounding like a blatant rehash of any one given band. For that alone, I implore headbangers young and old to crawl their way intul the Skullovich dungeon. It would be well worth your while.
8 out of 10
Label: Independent
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Slayer, Cruel Force, Bütcher