A mere half-decade into its quest to amalgamate the crushing brutality and expediency of thrash with black metal’s cryptic atmosphere and relentless drive, Ohio’s Skeletonwitch finally realizes what it has fought so valiantly for. A dynamic affair that refuses to coast on either simplicity or cliché, Breathing the Fire is fast, furious and uncompromisingly aggressive. Delving even further into a sensibility reminiscent of Carcass (offset guttural grunting and throat-tearing vocals, powerful shifts from hyper-blasts to half-time chugs), Breathing the Fire also boasts elements of rudimentary rock ’n’ roll. While we’ve seen this unfolding within extreme music lately via acts like Satyricon and Dark Throne, the means by which Skeletonwitch revels in its Motörhead adoration is of particular interest. It’s subtle yet unavoidable and generates a formidable foundation for aural diversions that don’t rely on the no-brainer cacophonous din that typically mars metal of this calibre. The end result is a powerful creation that fits well into the burgeoning death metal/rock genre.
Confrontational yet inventive, Breathing the Fire is a bold merger of extreme music elements: confidence, confrontation and killer riffs.
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