Skelator - Death to All Nations [2010]

The revitalism movement has been thriving as of late, taking the thrash and traditional metal genres back to their glorious origins. In the latter category, Sweden has delivered bands such as In Solitude, Enforcer, and Portrait, dominating the market in low-fi, ass-kicking heavy metal. Well, nobody seems to be talking about Skelator, a band taking on the style of more local 80s heroes like Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, and Helstar while mixing it with NWOBHM foundations and a tone at times more charmingly European. Their second full length album (and first not to be self-released) Death to All Nations does the past proud with soaring melodies everywhere and charging riffs that won't fail to make one wax nostalgic.

Just about everything you could want in a revitalist band can be found right here. The production values appropriately shy away from modern polish, the charismatic vocalist wails with banshee-like high notes (sometimes reminding me of the glory of the late Midnight and irking me with off-sounding lines at others), and the guitars churn with that classic tone. The songs themselves start to branch out as the album goes on, beginning to break their A-B structures and evolve into lengthier anthems that showcase the US power metal genre's often forgotten progressive tendencies. All of them are successful in varying volumes at conveying a sense of interwoven classic simplicity and subtle complexity, never getting tiresome or too repetitive along the way.

"Birth of Steel" and "The Voice" (which provides the album's catchiest riff) are the perfect rockers to introduce the album, while "Victory (Henry V)" seems to follow with a take on Iron Maiden's penchant for historical songs. "Stand Up (For Rock and Roll)" is dedicated to Dio but plays more like Priest. Visions of Running Wild ran through my mind when I saw the name "For Death and Glory," and the song follows through with a swarming riff and Rolf'n'roll deep in its blood. Another sure highlight is the concluding title track, rushing forth with the intensity of German speed metal and offering another memorable chorus to boot. "Symphony of the Night" (Castlevania, anyone?) explores the dark themes reminiscent of Helstar's Nosferatu.

Does modern, over-orchestrated European fairy metal piss you off? Have you been disappointed with the path that metal has taken since 1989? Does progress overwhelm you? Don't worry, Skelator is here. I must admit that I'm highly partial to this breed of music, but I can honestly say that I can't see any fan of metal's less extreme tendencies turning down this well-executed time machine of a record. Death to All Nations may not be a classic, and it certainly isn't perfect as it doesn't quite reach the lofty heights of its predecessors (also, the vocal performance could use some work); but when you choose something like this, you know what you're going to get, and what you'll get is one of the best bands stirring this archaic brew today. Get this and Diamonds by Enforcer and you won't regret it.

   Overall: 8/10 (Great)