Breathing the fire of heavy metal

Inspired by '80s metal giants Anthrax, Slayer and Iron Maiden as well as San Francisco Bay Area thrash, Skeletonwitch inject their own poisonous sub-genres into a sound that has catapulted them to the forefront of an unexpected thrash revival.

Emerging in 2004 with a self-financed disc, At One With the Shadows, these five unruly long hairs from Athens, Ohio, laid down an early marker with tasteful titles like "Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery," "Every Rotten Corpse Should Burn," "The Skull Splitter" and "No Rest For the Dead." Clearly these chaps are sick in the mind, but what's more disturbing is they're proud of it.

"I'm a fan of evil things," declares heavily tattooed, stellar-stacked vocalist Chance Garnette. "I have some pretty wicked thoughts and dreams, too. Some of the songs are directly related to that; you know, human torture, willingly being possessed by demons. The process of dying in general - just good old evil fun."

Guitarist Scott Hedrick normally blathers on about getting wasted on copious amounts of beer, but when it comes to talking about the Skeletonwitch sound, he's deadly serious. 

"We don't consider ourselves a 'thrash revival' band," he says. "We have a significant thrash influence, but there are other elements involved, as well. When I think of thrash revival, I mostly think of bands that are pretending it's still the '80s and copying the thrash masters rather than learning from what they did and creating something new."

Snapped up by Prosthetic Records, Skeletonwitch upped the ante with their follow-up album Beyond the Permafrost in 2007. With his gravel-gargling low-pitched guttural growls and slightly more tuneful screams of death, Chance's presence has become even more bestial.

Not only have the lyrics become even more grotesque and repulsive throughout, but the speed at which the band unleashes their latest material is almost supersonic. 

Recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle, last year's album, Breathing the Fire, brought out the dual guitar attack of Scott Hedrick and Chance's brother Nate Garnette. The album even boasts some catchy hooks, strangely akin to proper tunes. This probably had a lot to do with having the esteemed Jack Endino (Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden) at the production helm, who is favorably described by Hedrick as, "The Zen master behind the mixing desk."

 Of course, it just wouldn't be Skeletonwitch without an obligatory heavy dose of venomous bile, and there's plenty of that on Breathing the Fire. "Vermin eat your flesh. Skin falling from bone. Delight in your sickness, now rot and decompose," reads the bard-like script of Chance Garnette on "Repulsive Salvation." And there's no letup on another crowd-pleaser, "Crushed Beyond Dust," with Garnette insisting, "I need your blood upon my hands."

As for the album title itself, Garnette declares, "Everyone in Skeletonwitch lives breathing the fire of heavy metal." Indeed, there's no arguing his point, as the band have been firing on all cylinders as part of the 2010 Ozzfest. Making the likes of Mötley Crüe and Non Point look like yesterday's news, Skeletonwitch along with some other bands such as Goatwhore and Saviour have been providing some much needed new blood.

"We're currently halfway through the Ozzfest, and so far the experience has been amazing," Hedrick says. 

"It takes beer and a set of balls to keep up the stamina for what we do night after night," he adds about the touring schedule, which brings the band to Prague this week for the third time. Those present at their last hyper-aggressive workout at Klub 007 Strahov last January probably already know what Hedrick means. More of the same hell-raising debauchery is expected at Klub Exit.

James Scanlon can be reached at
features@praguepost.com