apanthropy

Skeletal Remains
Fragments of the Ageless
Century Media Records
Released: 3/8/24

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1 – Relentless Appetite
2 – Cybernetic Harvest
3 – To Conquer the Devout
4 – Forever in Sufferance
5 – Verminous Embodiment
6 – Ceremony of Impiety
7 – Void of Despair
8 – Unmerciful
9 – …Evocation (The Rebirth)
10 – Messiah of Rage (Hate Eternal cover)
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Skeletal Remains is a death metal band hailing from California, founded in 2011. Originally known as Anthropophagy, the band recorded a single demo before changing to their current name. After four well-regarded albums, the band has returned after a four-year hiatus with the release of Fragments of the Ageless, released in March of 2024 through Century Media Records on cassette, CD, vinyl and digital formats.

This is a powerhouse death metal album, packed full of riffs, lightning-fast drumming, and ripping solos. Drummer Pierce Williams, who joined the band back in 2020, puts on an absolute clinic behind the kit, with the guitar combo of Mike De La O and Chris Monroy laying down a hammer-strike of coordinated riffing and beautiful soloing.

There are seven original songs on Fragments of the Ageless, alongside two instrumental tracks and a Hate Eternal cover.

Opening with ‘Relentless Appetite,’ the beating commences immediately, with flourishes of rapid-fire palm-muted chords evolving into impossibly fast triplets with an accent lead guiding it. Playing like a monstrous mix of 1994-1999 Cannibal Corpse merged with modern-day Morbid Angel, with prominent rhythm-centric compositions similar to early Suffocation, Skeletal Remains strikes hard and fast, leaving little room for the listener to catch their breath.

“Copulate
Suffocate
Mutilate
Twitch and squirm as I slice within her.”

‘Cybernetic Harvest’ opens with a barrage of double-bass, fills, and blastbeats before the song descends into a pure rancor of static palm-muted chords that harkens to the early days of Suffocation. The primary riff is a palm-muted single note run that lays the foundation for a ripping solo to spring forth from the disastrous ruin the song leaves in its wake.

The band switches into a slightly move groove-oriented structure in ‘To Conquer the Devout,’ with drummer Pierce Williams firing off double-bass/snare triplets like a belt-fed machine gun. Single note tremolo sequences propel the song forward in seizing tantrums of total rage.

Barely slowing down is ‘Forever in Sufferance,’ heavy on neck breaking groove and with a center section breakdown that is pure death thrash. Bass player Brian Rush gets some alone time here, with a distorted rhythm line that feeds into a monster transitional riff. A song about blowing one’s head off never felt so good.

‘Verminous Embodiment’ is a sick thrashing number dealing with an incestuous abomination, cutting single note sequences and constantly changing drums lead into a beautifully melodic solo.

‘Ceremony of Impiety’ is an interlude of tribal-style drumming, bass synth, and piano that feeds into the thrash-minded ‘Void of Despair,’ which features more disgustingly fast guitar palm-muted maneuvers. Riff after riff comes at the listener in waves, with well-articulated drumming launching the track forward into a state of grizzly and maniacal chaos.

‘Unmerciful’ is the last proper track of the album, and the longest as well. This is a militant number with an extended opening sequence. The narrative style structure of the song allows Skeletal Remains to weave a warped musical monument that shames a lot of modern death metal bands. Some of the best soloing on Fragments of the Ageless live and thrive within this composition.

‘…Evocation (The Rebirth)’ is a long instrumental closer that leads into a cover of ‘Messiah of Rage,’ originally performed by Hate Eternal, having appeared on their ’97 Promo release.

The production on Fragments of the Ageless is ultra-modern with a full, lush spectrum of sound. The guitar tones are absolutely loaded with body and are simply crushing sounding, the mix on the drums provides a lot of substance to the low-end without creating a murky sound. The snare is a neutral thud, the toms have a great presence, and the cymbal work is sharp and crisp sounding. In terms of mix, no instrument overpowers another, and the vocals are well positioned to a point where other bands should definitely take note.

We have a lot of ground to cover in 2024, considering this came out in March, but this is a prominent, well-produced, well-executed death metal album that should see some positioning on Top 10/AOTY lists for 2024. Fans of pure old-school death metal need to take note of this album and give it a listen as soon as possible.

Label: Century Media Records
Band: Skeletal Remains

-AJK