Bastard Skull Self-Titled Review

I love scrolling through social media and finding new bands. Specifically, bands that feature former members of bands that I have a long history with. This is the only reason I use social media, honestly – music! Bastard Skull is a Jersey Thrash Metal band that’s comprised of former members of one of my favorite bands, Blood Feast! Tom Lorenzo and John Blicharz both did time in Blood Feast in recent years with Lorenzo playing bass on 2 albums with the band. This was reason enough for me to stop what I was doing and take notice – every member that’s played in Blood Feast is an accomplished musician and has earned my respect. The band is rounded out with former Sneak Attack drummer, Mark Mari and bassist, George Kostadimas. Bastard Skull recently released their Self-Titled full length independently via Bandcamp, digitally. Currently, there’s plans to release the album physically on both vinyl and CD. I’m not sure about the release dates, for now all we have is the digital release, which is plenty.

Bastard Skull’s debut release is a culmination of experience, hard work and sheer determination. Every musician involved in this project is a lifer and it shows in the music/song writing. This isn’t a venture into the NWOTM movement, this is classic Thrash Metal from when the rubber first met the road. There’s a ton of influences here – Celtic Frost, Venom and Possessed. It also bares mentioning that while these influences are heard, the songs come across very melodic and catchy – think Thrash N’ Roll if you will. The recording/production reminds me of early Anthrax/Overkill releases, everything is clear and concise, there’s no overcrowding/bleed through in the mics, you can hear everything well. I’ve listened to a ton of music like this, and these kinds of recordings are a rarity and a real highlight for me.
 
Vocally, the album comes across very much like the last few Blood Feast albums that featured Chris Natalini on vocals, granted his range is higher but Lorenzo’s bark/growl and cadence is similar which is fine by me – I absolutely adore this method, it’s pointed and direct. Dude sounds scary as hell! Riff wise, this album is overflowing with fist-pumping anthemic moments, and the lead breaks are otherworldly, without being chaotic and sloppy. The length of the album is a bit short by today’s standards, but not every album has to be an hour or so long, which is where a lot of bands make a mistake. That’s not the case on Bastard Skull’s debut, out of 8 tracks, there’s zero filler, every tune has its place. Clocking in at 32 minutes flat, this album feasts on destruction, mayhem and annihilation! The album itself is a standout, but for my money, the lead single “After the Plague” is a blistering representation of what the band is about. Other stand outs are “Catch Kill Release”, “The Last Death” and “Time is the Destroyer”.

I’m counting the days until the vinyl for this album is released, I can only imagine how warm this album will sound blasting through my stereo. In the meantime, I strongly urge you to check the album out via bandcamp and purchase the digital release – the band isn’t signed as of right now, so this is a self-released effort that deserves to be supported.

~Black Angel