Search - White Skull :: Xiii Skull

More new territory for this Italian power metal band

Pearly White | Northwest USA | 09/16/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After hearing and loving this band's last offering and fifth in their history called "The Dark Age", I was very anxious to hear the next installment.



WHITE SKULL are an Italian metal band playing a heavy brand of power metal. This isn't RHAPSODY or the like that thier fellow countrymen are renowned for. It's more aggressive in the guitar and rhythm section, and for the first quadra of the band's career was also defined by female lead vocals.



On their previous work "The Dark Age" that long standing tradition ended for WHITE SKULL, as they switched to the male vocals of Gustavo "Gus" Gabano. Gabano has remained in place for the band's latest offering, their sixth overall entitled "The XIII SKULL". However there are several other noteable changes to the lineup this go around, with the inclusion of a new lead guitarist and bass player. And the changes don't stop there!



It should also be noted before we continue that this band changed labels before their last release "The Dark Age". Originally they were on the Italian power/heavy metal label Underground Symphony for their first two outings and then switched to the metal label Nuclear Blast for their next couple. Now they reside in the roster of another Italian label, Frontiers. One known more for it's AOR and hard rock acts than anything truly heavy metal.



This is important to mention because I think we can see the label's influence at work on at least part of WHITE SKULL's "The XIII Skull" album.



Instead of the dark and ominous crunch that the band displayed on previous efforts (most noteably on "The Dark Age" I feel), now we seem to be visiting new territory for the band that is sadly old for most of us. The music got a lot "happier" it seems since the last album and the real aggressive cohesion is gone.



The rhythm parts, including the leads and backbeat are still heavy, but the choruses and song structure have changed a lot. In fact, I think someone over at the label plugged in a few STRATOVARIUS albums for these guys to mimic. Some of the songs presented here sound eerily familiar to material by that band and the chorus parts try to be so grand and so gleeful that in the midst of all those aggressive axes and verse vocal passages they sound not only out of place but just downright corny at times!



This is particularly so on the albums first two offerings (with lyrics) "The Union" and "Top Secret". They, along with a few others on the album really seem to miss the mark trying to be something this band is not.



There is also the presence of a few fillers on this album as well. This was not the case on the last album "The Dark Age" where every song was special. On "The XIII Skull" however, even the longest track on the album (clocking in at over 7 minutes) "Power Of Blood" is really standard and predictable. Going nowhere in the span of it's long running time, save for maybe a few seconds worth of nice licks here and there.



Another questionable angle of this album has also got to be the subject matter. In previous efforts the material was quite the metal cliche', but still fitting for the band's overall dark and aggressive sound. Dealing with things like Norse mythology and the Spanish Inquisition. Now however we're handed more of an "X-Files" or "In Search Of" (if anyone reading this is old enough to remember that!) type of theme, as the albums dozen tracks span the lyrically presented mysteries of everything from extraterrestrial life and the missing link to the the Loch Ness Monster and the clairvoyant visions of Mothman! It's all really pretty cheesy throughout.



In the end though, I still can't give this a "bad" rating. There are enjoyable parts to most of the songs here, it's just the whole affair seems to miss me a bit. Particularly on the heels of their last and still best work "The Dark Age". Maybe these guys need to change labels again and get with someone who might better apreciate their heavy style and be less interested in turning them into yet another power metal band, the likes of which we've already far too many of!



Meanwhile I'm watching and waiting curiously, if not eagerly still for the seventh WHITE SKULL album to arrive, but now with my rose-tinted glasses firmy in place!

"