SKINNER
“The Dark Design”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Skinner are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2010 by singer Norman “the metal chameleon” Skinner (Hellscream, Imagika, Niviane). The bands sound can be described as thrashy, traditional heavy metal with a touch of industrial thrown into the mix along with a tonne of melodious intent! Skinner released its debut album ‘Sleepwalkers’ in 2014, with sophomore album ‘The Dark Design’ emerging in 2023…

…featuring a phenomenal thirteen songs across more than an hour’s playtime! Including a sensational cover – but more on that later. Cause right now, if you’re expecting something similar to Norman Skinner’s other bands/projects, you’re seriously mistaken! Skinner (the band) is more raw and earthy than any other work Skinner (the man) has released – and to avoid any confusion as my review unfolds, any mention of “Skinner” will refer to the band, as I will now refer to the singer as “Norman”, So, the new album by Skinner, opens with a wonderfully mellow and serene intro, casually building to a crescendo – and then wham! The band slam you into the fucking wall with a fierceness that is beyond brutal – ‘What’s Left Inside’ a heavy hitting and savage barrage of industrial tinged heavy metal with a scowling vocal performance by Norman. A scowl that makes many an appearance as the album unfolds, Norman pushing his voice to incredible limits!

Increasing tempo and energy levels, the band power on with the raging ‘In Silence’, and a “metal scream” to die for at twenty five seconds in! The industrial edge from the opening song is still in effect, but ‘In Silence’ is much more of a traditional metaller, pounding the ground hard and planting one foot firmly on the monitor. What a stunning opening double salvo from a talented singer, with the incredible ability to adapt his vocal style to varied genres of metal – with a little metalcore screaming coming to the fore as ‘The Haunting Hours’ comes to life in a burst of explosive energy! Yet the band weave in a melodious intent that belies metalcore, Skinner relishing in the wave after wave of punishing metal aimed directly at the listener! An all consuming treble becomes a quadruple with the solemnly titled ‘A Sea Of Melancholy’ hitting like a tonne of bricks dropped from the top of the Wilshire Grand Center skyscraper in California! And the aggressiveness of the vocals is overwhelming – Norman sounding really pissed off and angry as he scowls and screams the lyrics with a shit-load of venom! Chills down the spine and goose-bumps across the forearms – this is terrific stuff!

And with no let up in intensity, the album roars on with ‘The Ferryman’, and a heavy hitting yet slower paced tempo that just shreds the airways to leave them in tatters! The band maintaining the incredible heaviness ‘The Dark Design’ began with, along with the all encompassing aggression level. This is the fourth band/project I have heard Norman sing with/in, and I have to say this is by far and away the most varied – from out and out metal to screaming metalcore to roaring rock! The man has it all in his locker! And with another gentle mellow beginning, ‘How Many Ways I Can Die’ soon changes its appearance to become a raging, scowling barrage of hard hitting metal! ‘How Many Ways I Can Die’ continues to change the way it sounds, prowling around metal territory like a caged tiger looking to escape and return to its natural habitat! The hunger and desire for heaviness is overpowering – every metalhead revelling in the belligerent battering of ‘The Dark Design’. And with an uplift in pace and power, ‘My Tribulation’ gallops forth fiercely, adopting the traditional foot on the monitor stance as it hits hard and kicks harder. And all with a phenomenally sharp melodic edge!

With no break for a breather, Skinner maintain their merciless march of metal with the twisting and turning arrogance of ‘Among The Ashes’ – meandering from atmospheric mid tempo fare to melodic heavy metal. All the while featuring reined in power that threatens to burst wide open – but never does! The band keeping it check – for now! Cause ‘Unfinished’ lets it seep out like a leaky water tap – dripping with tension, getting stronger, increasing pressure, until whoosh! Except there’s no whoosh here, Skinner handling the pressure and delivering a tense, spine tingling tirade of mid tempo melodic metal. Since the album began, the band have kept intact an incredible infectious level that continues to stay strong, keeping every listener glued to their speakers. No-one’s leaving yet – ‘Cain’ entering the fray with an acoustic led and chilling intro, building to a crescendo, and then thwack! A heavy groove slices through the air and stomps on with a ferocity not heard before, Skinner pounding hard as ‘Cain’ shows a phenomenal turn of speed mid song, every head banger banging their heads fast – really fast!

Every turn and twist with each new song has seen – or rather heard – ‘The Dark Design’ take a slightly different path, the band delivering an eclectic mix of metal. And with only three songs left to go, another variation joins the mix – up tempo and energetic power driven traditional heavy metal courtesy of the glorious ‘Wicked Whys’. The most accessible song on offer, ‘Wicked Whys’ is gonna grab the attention of the hard rock brigade, turning their heads and drawing them into the Skinner soundscape! A soundscape that suddenly becomes thrashy with the title song ‘The Dark Design’ – a fast, furious and feisty rampage of all out aggression! ‘The Dark Design’ (the song) is gonna have every metalhead from every corner of the world head banging furiously, the band delivering a belter of a barnstormer to bring the album to a close – almost! For the albums final song is a cover of ‘Seven Angels’ by original Crimson Glory singer Midnight (real name John Patrick McDonald), taken from his 2001 solo album ‘M’. Skinner do an amazing job here, delivering an electric guitar’d metal rendition of an acoustic song.

Overall, a terrific mix of metal styles ‘The Dark Design’ is a roller coaster of stunning twists and turns.

TRACKLIST

What’s Left Inside
In Silence
The Haunting Hours
A Sea Of Melancholy
The Ferryman
How Many Ways I Can Die
My Tribulation
Among The Ashes
Unfinished
Cain
Wicked Whys
The Dark Design
Seven Angels

https://www.normanskinner.net/
https://www.facebook.com/skinnermetal

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