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.