The new album Until The Night from California death-rock trio New Skeletal Faces was released recently through Peaceville Records.The album delves deep into the forgotten, dark underbelly of rock and roll, taking inspiration from the blackened brutality of bands such as Bathory and Christian Death.
Matt Butler wrote in his review for Echoes and Dust: “This album is so much fun. It is a Texas Instruments talking calculator of a record. It is a life-sized replica Galaga arcade game of an album. It is a polystyrene Big Mac box of an LP. It is as 1980s as Drew Barrymore looking quizzically at ET.”
We asked the band about 3 releases that have influenced them a lot in their musical career, check out their 3 choices below.
Photo by Becky DeGiglio
Belfegore – Belfegore
Errol Fritz (guitar and vocals):
Not many people know about Belfegore. This self-titled album is extremely underrated and original. Their sound blurs the lines between synthy new wave, danceable industrial, gritty rock n roll, and cavernous gothic rock. I love the nasty vocal approach on this album, especially in the song Love’. The bassline in ‘Comic With Rats Now’ is groovy as hell. This album makes me wanna dance, fuck, and kill at the same time. I’m not sure what they’re doing right, but they are German. So I’d expect nothing less.
Rudimentary Peni – Death Church
Don Void (drums, guitar):
There really are few albums that have had as much of an impact on me than Rudimentary Peni’s – Death Church full length from 1983. I got this album as a blind buy in the late 1990s as a teenager and this was the moment when I first really found everything I had hoped for in one record, the darkness, the emotion, and even the production. This is a lean album too, no wasted time and no filler, perfection from start to finish. Every instrument is distinct and serving the song in the best way. Songs like ‘radio schizo’, ‘the cloud song’ and ‘Dutchmen’ being some of my all time favourites.
Def Leppard – High ‘n’ Dry
Errol Fritz:
Def Leppard’s High ‘n’ Dry is a balls out rock n roll album. It’s their best record, and probably best in the whole genre. This one is a little different sounding compared to what came after. It’s more raw. ‘Another Hit And Run’ is such a banger of a song. As a ballad slut, I listen to ‘Bringin On The Heartbreak’ like a bad drug. Joe Elliot’s vocals are seductive yet sleazy. The guitar melodies are infectious. To all the people talking shit about this band, try putting this record on while blitzed at 4am in the morning. Maybe you’ll understand. This one goes hard. Trust me.
