SKINLESS — Progression Towards Evil (review)

SKINLESS — Progression Towards Evil album cover Album · 1998 · Brutal Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
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now solely performs vocals (he recorded some of the drum tracks on "Swollen Heaps"), drummer/vocalist Ryan Wade has been replaced by Bob Beaulac (who performs drums and not vocals on this album), and bassist Adam Lewis has been replaced by Joe Keyser.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.
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