Description

Still sealed double album in digipak with Tracks From The Wilderness EP as bonus

Although this celebrated band is pretty much a child of the Satan/Pariah duo Graeme English and Steve Ramsey, it’s really hard for one to view it separated from Martin Walkyier, one of the most unique voices in metal. It seems as though wherever the man appears, he leaves an indelible trace that is not easy to erase even by the greatest “healer” that time is. The moment he left Sabbat the world forgot about them, and very few were those who paid attention to their swansong (“Mourning Has Broken”, not a bad album at all). He even managed to bring some of the characteristic pagan grandeur of the Sabbats to the Skyclad template as evident from the debut which was a really strong showing putting the guys on the metal map. Thrash metal, which was featured prominently on this first instalment, gradually lost its significance replaced by the folk-ish motifs and the omnipresent violin which on the album reviewed here is in full bloom. Consequently, it sounds way less aggressive than the previous two as the band enter the folk metal parade, created single-handedly and developed by them alone, on a full-time basis, tearing all past ties to Satans, Pariahs, and Sabbats with several fiddle tunes down the line. Everything that followed from the band’s discography was forged here; the pagan folk motifs became a legitimate part of the metal formula, and one is yet to witness a better performer within these parameters.

Track list:
1. Thinking Allowed
2. Cry Of The Land
3. Schadenfruede
4. A Near Life Experience
5. The Wickedest Man In The World
6. Earth Mother, The Sun And The Furious Host
7. The Ilk Of Human Blindness
8. Tunnel Visionaries
9. A Word To The Wize
10. Bewilderbeast
11. It Wasn’t Meant To End This Way
12. Emerald
13. A Room Next Door
14. When All Else Fails
15. The Declaration Of Indifference-live
16. Spinning Jenny-live
17. Skyclad-live