SKINLESS

Brutal Death Metal • United States
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Skinless is a brutal death metal band from New York, USA. They formed in 1992 by vocalist Sherwood Webber and guitarist Noah Carpenter. Undergoing countless line-up changes early on, the band finally stabilized with the arrival of bassist Joe Keyser and drummer Bobby Beaulac prior to recording 1998's Step-Up debut release "Progressions Towards Evil" in 1998. The album scored high marks with both fans and critics, and constant touring behind acts like Mortician and Incantation led to a deal with relapse records.

They recorded their second album "Foreshadowing our Demise" in 2001. By then, the band had begun adding discreet melodies and varied rhythms to their once furiously full-speed assault.

In 2003, much improved on this direction album called "From Sacrifice to Survival" featuring Origin drummer John Longstreth temporarily stepping in for the sessions while Beaulac joined the band permently. In 2005 Sherwood Webber left the band and was replaced
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SKINLESS Discography

SKINLESS albums / top albums

SKINLESS Progression Towards Evil album cover 3.58 | 2 ratings
Progression Towards Evil
Brutal Death Metal 1998
SKINLESS Foreshadowing Our Demise album cover 4.00 | 1 ratings
Foreshadowing Our Demise
Brutal Death Metal 2001
SKINLESS From Sacrifice to Survival album cover 3.75 | 2 ratings
From Sacrifice to Survival
Brutal Death Metal 2003
SKINLESS Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead album cover 3.75 | 4 ratings
Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead
Brutal Death Metal 2006
SKINLESS Only the Ruthless Remain album cover 4.43 | 3 ratings
Only the Ruthless Remain
Brutal Death Metal 2015
SKINLESS Savagery album cover 3.36 | 3 ratings
Savagery
Brutal Death Metal 2018

SKINLESS EPs & splits

SKINLESS Cold Still Earth album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Cold Still Earth
Brutal Death Metal 1996
SKINLESS Common Ground - A Compilation of Upstate NY's Hardest album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Common Ground - A Compilation of Upstate NY's Hardest
Brutal Death Metal 1997
SKINLESS Maledictive Pigs / Skinless album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Maledictive Pigs / Skinless
Brutal Death Metal 2001
SKINLESS Miscreant album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Miscreant
Brutal Death Metal 2002

SKINLESS live albums

SKINLESS demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

SKINLESS Demo I album cover 3.00 | 1 ratings
Demo I
Brutal Death Metal 1994
SKINLESS Swollen Heaps album cover 3.00 | 1 ratings
Swollen Heaps
Brutal Death Metal 1995

SKINLESS re-issues & compilations

SKINLESS Regression Towards Evil: 1994-1998 album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Regression Towards Evil: 1994-1998
Brutal Death Metal 2007

SKINLESS singles (0)

SKINLESS movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Buzzed & Brutal
Brutal Death Metal 2000
.. Album Cover
0.00 | 0 ratings
Skinflick
Brutal Death Metal 2004

SKINLESS Reviews

SKINLESS Progression Towards Evil

Album · 1998 · Brutal Death Metal
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UMUR
"Progression Towards Evil" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Skinless. The album was released through Step Up Records in March 1998. Skinless formed in 1992 under the Gorebag monicker but soon changed their name to the current one. The band released their first demo in 1994 and the "Swollen Heaps" demo followed in 1995. Since the release of "Swollen Heaps" there have been some lineup changes. Sherwood Webber now solely performs vocals (he recorded some of the drum tracks on "Swollen Heaps"), drummer/vocalist Ryan Wade has been replaced by Bob Beaulac (who performs drums and not vocals on this album), and bassist Adam Lewis has been replaced by Joe Keyser. Guitarist Noah Carpenter has been the only constant member of Skinless since their formation, but this particular lineup would actually be stabile for a couple of albums.

Stylistically the material on "Progression Towards Evil" is pretty much a continuation of the heavy and brutal groove laden death metal style of the "Swollen Heaps" demo. Both "Crispy Kids" and "Cuntaminated" from the demo were re-recorded and included on "Progression Towards Evil". Skinless have increased the overall pace of their music though, which now features more faster parts than the demos did, but it´s still predominantly a heavy and groove laden death metal release. It´s not as such slam death, but there are definitely some shared elements featured on the album. The vocals are brutal unintelligible growling and they are placed very high in the mix, occasionally almost drowning the instrumental part of the music. I´d say the vocals are maybe placed a bit too high in the mix, although it´s important on this type of release, that they are dominant to ensure a high level of brutality and savagery. But these vocals are arguably placed a bit too high in the mix.

Skinless are a well playing unit and everything is delivered with the skill and precision needed to play this type of music. "Progression Towards Evil" is not a cold and mechanical death metal release though, as the band have an organic touch to their performances and the raw and unpolished sound production values further enhance the feeling that you´re listening to real people playing. Upon conclusion "Progression Towards Evil" is a raw, relatively immature, and not perfect debut album from Skinless. There´s promise here and some of those heavy brutal grooves are really great and crushing, but a little more is needed to reach the heights of the best contemporary releases. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

SKINLESS Swollen Heaps

Demo · 1995 · Brutal Death Metal
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UMUR
"Swollen Heaps" is the second demo recording by US, New York based death metal act Skinless. The demo was independently released in October 1995. Skinless formed in 1992 under the Gorebag monicker but soon after changed their name to the current one. The band released their first demo in 1994 and shortly after the release of the demo original vocalist Mike Levy left. Instead a rather strange constellation happened. Drummer Ryan Wade performs vocals on three out of five tracks on "Swollen Heaps" and plays drums on the remaining two, while new vocalist Sherwood Webber peforms vocals on the two tracks where Wade doesn´t perform, but also plays drums on the three tracks where Wade doesn´t. Bassist Ted Monsour has left and has been replaced by Adam Lewis. So only the role of guitarist Noah Carpenter hasn´t changed since the first demo.

Stylistically Skinless still play a brutal and crushingly heavy death metal style, which is predominantly mid-paced and groove laden. It´s not so much Obituary, Jungle Rot, and Six Feet Under I´m thinking of when listening to "Swollen Heaps" though (which I do when listening to the first demo), but instead Suffocation and other early slam death originators. The brutality and technical playing have been taken a notch up, and "Swollen Heaps" is overall quite the impressive death metal demo. Filled to the brim with heavy brutal grooves and riffs, unintelligible brutal growling, and high level musicianship, this is a quality release. The songwriting is effective and relatively memorable and the sound production is in the better end of death metal demo sound recordings. This could just as well have been released as an EP on a label. Both "Crispy Kids" and "Cuntaminated" from this demo were re-recorded and included on Skinless debut full-length studio album "Progression Towards Evil" (released in March 1998). A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

SKINLESS Demo I

Demo · 1994 · Brutal Death Metal
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UMUR
"Demo 1994" is the first demo recording by US, New York based death metal act Skinless. The demo was independently released in 1994. Skinless formed in 1992 under the Gorebag monicker but soon after changed their name to the current one. It´s the only Skinless release to feature original vocalist Mike Levy, who would depart soon after the release of this demo.

The demo features 6 tracks and a playing time close to 25 minutes, so there is quantity enough in terms of getting to know Skinless and their style of music, which is ultimately the goal of a demo. Stylistically this is brutal and heavy death metal which is predominantly mid-paced and features heavy brutal grooves and riffs. It´s artists like Obituary, Six Feet Under, and Jungle Rot, I´m reminded of, and this is generally crushingly heavy death metal. The vile movie sample intros are quite effective, providing the demo with the right foul atmosphere.

It doesn´t sound much like anything Skinless would produce down the road, but it´s still good quality death metal. Skinless are a well playing unit, and the demo features a decent sound production job, so upon conclusion it´s a demo worth investigaing and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

SKINLESS Savagery

Album · 2018 · Brutal Death Metal
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UMUR
"Savagery" is the 6th full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Skinless. The album was released through Relapse Records in May 2018. Skinless have been active since 1992 but disbanded in 2011. They however reunited in 2013 (with a couple of lineup changes) and released their 5th full-length studio album "Only the Ruthless Remain" in 2015.

Stylistically "Savagery" is a combination of brutal technical death metal and more groove laden core influences. So it´s probably an album that old school death metal purists won´t be satisfied with, but those who enjoy brutal grooves in their death metal may find something of interest here (it actually says a lot about the influences on the original material here, that Skinless have opted to cover a Crowbar track as a bonus track). While the band occasionally play fast, most tracks are kept in groove laden mid-pace and occasionally slower paces. The vocals are a combination of deep unintelligible growling and higher pitched screams and the occasional use of an aggressive shouting vocal type.

"Savagery" features a raw sound production, which suits the music pretty well (although maybe slightly too murky in the end), and the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, so "Savagery" is a quality release on most parameters. It´s not an album I remember much from when it´s finished though, and it´s in the songwriting department Skinless could improve. It´s not that there aren´t tempo changes and generally good variation within tracks, but there aren´t that many hooks to hold on to and the effect laden brutal growling style becomes a bit one-dimensional after a while (it´s definitely a nice breather when they use the other vocal styles). A 3 to a 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

SKINLESS Only the Ruthless Remain

Album · 2015 · Brutal Death Metal
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UMUR
"Only the Ruthless Remain" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Skinless. The album was released through Relapse Records in June 2015. It´s been quite a few years since the release of their previous studio album "Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead (2006)" but Skinless disbanded in April 2011 and wasn´t reformed until August 2011. Only three of the members who recorded the predecessor are still part of the lineup on "Only the Ruthless Remain" as lead vocalist Jason Keyser has been replaced by Sherwood Webber. The band has also brought in a second guitarist in Dave Matthews, making Skinless a five-piece on this release. The usual suspects are Noah Carpenter (guitars), Joe Keyser (bass), and Bob Beaulac (drums).

Stylistically the music on "Only the Ruthless Remain" is brutal technical death metal. It´s a bit more varied than the majority of acts in that end of the death metal spectrum, and Skinless also manages to stand out from the crowd with a relatively original style. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts, and one jaw dropping moment is followed by another throughout the album, but the technical playing is more often than not a means to an end, rather than just technical noodling around. The album is packed with catchy brutal riffs, crushingly brutal breakdowns (which at times smell a bit of deathcore), fiercely aggressive growling vocals (and even a couple of clean ones for effect), and a very well playing rhythm section, which provides the music with loads of tempo changes, breaks, and just generally ultra brutal beats.

It´s however the quality and cathiness of the songwriting which set Skinless apart from many of their more mediocre contemporaries. "Only the Ruthless Remain" is a brutal technical death metal album where you can actually remember the tracks, because they stand out from each other, and because of the variation within tracks. It´s also a wise choice that the band have opted to only include 7 tracks on the 35:35 minutes long album. With such a brutal and relentless attack on the senses it would be hard to endure a longer playing time (no matter how great this release is).

So "Only the Ruthless Remain" is all about quality over quantity and I applaud that. It´s simply a quality release through and through. Excellent musicianship, a raw, powerful, and detailed sound production, and clever yet effectful songwriting. Skinless is back with a vengeance and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

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