Review Summary: Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery
2007’s Beyond The Permafrost may technically be Skeletonwitch’s second album, but I’ve always seen it as their debut for whatever reason. Perhaps it’s due to the broader exposure it got compared to 2004’s At One With The Shadows and that some songs from that era were re-recorded for this release. Either way, the band made a dramatic impact with a razor-focused sound combination and a diabolical wintry aesthetic that set them apart from others in the late 2000s thrash revival.
Blackened thrash was no doubt fairly codified when this album came out but I’ve always appreciated the neat angle that Skeletonwitch gave it. The black metal elements really define the aesthetic, melodic death metal comes through in the more dramatic flourishes, and the fast-paced thrash structures make for a charged foundation. I always thought of it as sounding like a fusion of Immortal, Metallica, and Iron Maiden back in the day and even now, I can hear elements of Dissection and Slayer among others.
It’s especially impressive how the musicians are able to show off these varying aspects without sounding out of place. The vocals have always been a major point of appeal for me; the back and forth between raspy shrieks and death grunts could’ve easily gotten too telegraphed but the alternations with just the right amount of conviction and venom. The drums and guitars also put in a flurry of fast blasts and intense beats to see it all through though the latter get plenty of chances to dispense climactic harmonies.
And with the opening “Within My Blood” throwing you right in with immediately surging drums and discordant shredding, the songwriting is an onslaught of short relentless workouts. While this risks the tracks having too much of a drive-by feeling, there’s enough variation to keep a good sense of flow. Tracks like “Fire From The Sky” and “Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery” are especially fun blasts with gripping riffs and catchy scream-along chants. There’s even room for a little epic flair between the surging “Baptized In Flames” and the comparably mid-tempo “Remains Of The Defeated” is straight from the Immortal playbook.
Overall, Skeletonwitch achieved a pretty notable breakthrough with Beyond The Permafrost. The album provides an excellent balance of extreme and melodic elements at a breakneck thrash pace that the musicians’ collective ferocity ensures the mood translates just as well in a live setting. It’s the sort of intuitive execution that feels more thoughtful than the carnage it carries out. It makes a strong case for being one of the best albums to come out of the rethrash movement and I don’t think the band ever quite topped it.
