Skeletal Remains gets better with time.
Formed in 2011 under the name Anthropophagy, the American band led by Chris Monroy (vocals/guitar) and Mike De La O (guitar), recently joined by Pierce Williams (drums, Ænigmatum, ex-Torture Rack) and Brian Rush (bass, Ænigmatum, Empyrean Fire, ex-Mountain Grave…) announces the release of Fragments of the Ageless, their new album, on Century Media Records in 2024.
Relentless Appetite is the first track to hit, letting its jerky rhythmic welcome wild vociferations under a veritable massive rain of double kick and sharp blast. The addition of tortured leads is as natural as aggressive, proof of the band’s willingness to trample us before giving way to Cybernetic Harvest and its more complex approach, which mixes solid riffs with an assumed technicality, not hesitating to be simpler and heavier at times. The speed slows slightly with the introduction of To Conquer the Devout, but the waves of raw strength quickly resurface to regularly stun us while borrowing a few darker influences to adorn themselves in mystery, contrasting with the straightforward Old School sounds. Forever in Sufferance summons all the power of their Death Metal to unleash a rhythm filled with rage, but the band also relies on groovy, catchy patterns to place cutting leads before returning to a choppy frantic approach on Verminous Embodiment, the next composition, where harmonics are particularly present and vindictive. The musicians briefly breathe with Ceremony of Impiety, the anguished interlude that the piano manages to soften while making it very mysterious, but the hurricane resumes with the first notes of Void of Despair, which immediately returns to the hostile tones launched at full speed. Strident leads accompany the aggression, followed by a unifying introduction on Unmerciful, the longest composition, where heaviness reigns in the catchy rhythm that doesn’t falter, even when the guitars impose more or less abrasive melodies. The album finally culminates in …Evocation (The Rebirth), a well-crafted instrumental in which effective riffs regularly change pace while including dark leads, once again broadening the band’s influences.
Fragments of the Ageless shows that Death Metal is all about strength, letting Skeletal Remains couple their massive rhythms with energetic lead parts and furious screams. An excellent lesson!
90/100