Skyclad

The Answer Machine?

1997 Massacre Records

Review by Jason Sorens

"The Answer Machine?" is the latest from Skyclad, perhaps the most prolific metal band of the 1990s. It takes the band further into its folkish direction, while abandoning much of the metal sound that was once at the core of Skyclad.

At first I thought that "The Answer Machine?" was way too soft for my taste. There are several ballads here, and the heavier songs can mostly be described as "hard rock." The inimitable Celtic vibes emanating from this album eventually won me over though, and now I can't stop listening to it.

Overall, the sound would best be described as Celtic hard rock with the rough edges patiently shorn off. The fiddle, played again by Georgina Biddle, dominates many if not most of the melodies. The guitar (there is now only one) usually plays bluesy riffs, but with a clean sound.

This is a mixture which serves Skyclad well. The fiddle and guitar mesh on this album as perhaps on no previous Skyclad effort that I've heard. The vocals are also of a more melodic, clean, flat sort. Martin Walkiyer abandons his formerly trademark bark on all songs except one, the heaviest, a rocker called "Eirenarch."

The lyrics on this album serve to further Skyclad's reputation for witty wordplay. One particularly grand pun arises from the song, "Worn Out Sole to Heel," which contains the lines, "You're worn out sole to heel/Your worn-out soul to heal." The lyrics sound a little heavy-handed at first, but they really fit well with the music and the way the vocals flow. Take for example the chanty chorus of "Helium": "I'm lighter than air--I haven't a care/Still gravity pulls me under/Credibility gaps--gullability fills/They were bringing me down (no wonder)/Square pegs, round holes, last dregs, own goals/Monkey puzzle but my fist won't fit inside/Every day nothing new, black and white deja-vu/Makes me feel I want to spread my wings and fly." The song is about a person who kills himself by jumping from a building.

Though most of the album has a Celtic (particularly Scottish) folk sound, "The Thread of Evermore" has a distinct Middle Eastern tweak, and other songs move more in an American folk direction.

The last song on the album, "Dead Angels on Ice," is something of a departure. It is a metal/bluegrass hoedown. Yes, complete with banjo. The chorus is great, though, and I have a secret affection for this song (well, now it's not so secret).

I enjoy Skyclad immensely for several reasons. First, I really enjoy Celtic music, and Skyclad is the only hard rock/metal band seriously incorporating Celtic music into their metal base. Second, the lyrics are just too cool to be shrugged off. I enjoy well-done lyrics and appreciate a band's music more accordingly. Third, the melodies are actually catchy; they work well, even if I wish the guitar were more prominent. So for those of you looking for something fresh and thoughtful, check out this album.

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