Snakeskin Angels
Witchchapel
Daemon
Worship Productions
2012
Snakeskin
Angels might be Sweden's answer to The Devil's Blood minus the
psychedelia. They are pure old school pre-metal with some outside
influences circling in their diabolical brew. This five-song EP
captures the fun and the magical aspects of early metal roots as
performed by today's regressives. The album opens with The
Devil's Thrust, lush melodies and clean vocals with a sinister
undercurrent to them. A bit of Mercyful Fate can be discerned but
that sells the music short to dwell on that. I hear some touches
of alternative ROCK in the brooding mid-tempo riff that forms the main
structure of the song and I am somehow reminded of The Cult.
Nightchild has a bouncier texture as it creeps along.
Melodic leads from sharply tuned guitars cross over a 70s-ish
main riff. The vocal phrasing at times reminds me of Danzig and
the guitar solo at the 2:38 mark brings to mind the Eagles for some
reason. An ominous organ and some acoustic guitar ushers in
Threefaced Saviour. This song once again conjures comparisons to
The Cult early on, however it drops into older realms with its
dream-like middle. Old school melodic metal announces my favorite
song, Beneath Me. It's like High Spirits meets Danzig.
There is a bit of a toe-tapping groove to the song and melodic
accents that bring focus to the commanding vocals. Before the
final chorus there is some nighttime fretwork that collapses into more
melodic leads. Snakeskin Angels takes the old school proto-metal
style and pushes it into a different direction by incorporating some
new elements within their compositions. The music is gripping and
intoxicating all at once. And bit of darkness to go with your 70s
rock.