Kev Rowland
Skinflint’s second album was originally released in 2010, but only as a CD-R in their home country of Botswana, and following on from the commercial release of their third album, Pure Steel have now made this album available with two bonus songs. This appears to be a concept album, with the gentle spoken introduction with acoustic guitar telling the story. This is actually one of the most powerful numbers on the album, as it is only here that the true African element really comes through as a point of difference. The rest of the album is traditional heavy metal, mixing together elements of Iron Maiden with some early Sepultura, and the result being something that is okay but nothing ever more than that.
Bassist Raskebo has a nice touch, and his work as a second lead melody instrument definitely lifts the overall sound, but the songs aren’t really strong enough to demand much attention on the international market. Now that they have been signed to an overseas label, and will therefore gain a lot more attention from outside their own country, it will be interesting to see if Skinflint will be able to lift their game to become known for their music as opposed to being renowned just as a metal band from Botswana.