Skull Fist Heavier Than Metal

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

In case you haven’t noticed in recent years, traditional metal is back in a big way. Classic bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are enjoying a second wave of much-deserved popularity, and new bands, young bands, are popping up all over the globe (but particularly in North America) to play the kind of metal that went out of style 25 years ago. Hailing from Canada, Skull Fist is one of the more promising of these new traditional metal bands. Skull Fist is a band that worships at the altar of Priest, Maiden and the NWOBHM, Accept, Dio, Exciter and the like. It’s an old school sound with a modern energy.

Now, you may be thinking “but there are already a lot of these traditional metal revival acts, what with the Cauldrons and White Wizzards and what not; do we really need to hear another one?” Shame on you! You’re obviously a wimp and/or poseur and should promptly leave the hall. Go on, we’ll queue up “No False Metal” to see you off.

That’s better. The fact is, the more talented young bands that emerge to take up the traditional metal torch, the better. If you hadn’t noticed, metal has become insanely compartmentalized. As cool as it is to know that there are progressive metalcore or symphonic black metal or Viking death metal bands out there, bands like Skull Fist remind us of a time when the term “metal” was the only classification that mattered.

Back to the album, Heavier Than Metal, the band’s debut, is just an EP, but it’s five tracks of pure molten metal. You can look at song titles like “Heavier Than Metal,” “Ride The Beast” and “No False Metal” and get a pretty good idea what’s in store. They have the twin guitar assault, speed metal riffage, wicked solos (the one closing out “Blackout” is particularly sweet), vocals that reach the stratosphere (courtesy of Jackie Slaughter, who also plays guitar), and devastating drumwork by…a teenage girl, 18-year-old Alison Thunderbird. Cynics might dismiss that as a publicity stunt, but that goes out the window as soon as you hear the devastating drumwork on this album. The only thing Heavier Than Metal is missing is a kick-ass cover song to close the EP out in style. Not that “No False Metal” doesn’t do the job nicely, but an Exciter cover would have been totally appropriate here. The production job is kind of low budget, but it only adds to the band’s old school vibe in a Neat Records 7” kind of way.

If you love old school heavy metal, the NWOBHM sound and/or the new crop of traditional metal bands, Heavier Than Metal is an absolute must-have. Buy it now so you can tell all your friends how you supported the band back before they were famous. And labels…someone sign these guys already so we can get a proper full-length album and they can bring their metal to the masses!

Genre: Traditional Metal

Band:

Jackie Slaughter (v) (g)

Alison Thunderland (d)

Johnny Exciter (b)

Sir Shred (g)

Track Listing:

Sign of the Warrior
Heavier Than Metal
Blackout
Ride the Beast
No False Metal

Label: N/A

Website: www.myspace.com/skullfisted

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10