Shed the Skin is an old school death metal band from Hells Headbanger's ever-growing roster of the ugly and obscene. The group is based out of Cleveland with a roster that includes members of other known metal bands like Incantation, Ringworm, Vladimirs, Faithxtractor, and Vindicator. Their second release on the label, Harrowing Faith is a disturbing step backwards into the early days of death metal.
Dat riff on “Daimonic Adytum”...this is what metal is all about. These are the moments we live for. This is death metal for some dark and dingy basement. Morbid death grunts and eardrum-shattering shrieks are delivered with an intensity that needs no more than 1:55 to prove a point. Is this the best metal album you have ever heard? No, but we may be witnessing the birth of some new titans of the old school sound.
“Putrid and Pious” and “CSUM” are two of my other personal favorites on this album, but the entire thing is a nonstop thrill ride. Nonstop speed and energy are the ingredients to Shed the Skin's success. There is the errant break here and there of doom and gloom, but you're never more than a few seconds away from another explosion of drums and distortion. There's even a few rocking solos and a few melodeath-sounding leads to boot.
If you enjoyed our previous streams of groups like Diavolos, you will almost certainly get a kick in the teeth out of Shed the Skin. It's done with just enough care and rawness to appease the fans of the forerunners of death metal, but enough “zazz” to draw in the young'ens and show them what the genre is really about. You can cut your teeth on those wicked deathcore breakdowns, kids; but you simply cannot replace the rotting charms of the old school.