Label : Dragonheart Records/SPV
Review by Tony Cannella
Italy’s White Skull have already been around for a number of years. Their debut CD “I Won’t Burn Alone” was released in 1995 and since that time they have just managed to fly under the radar, all-the-while releasing strong traditional power metal albums. After their original female singer Federica De Boni left the band in 2001, White Skull chose a male vocalist in Gustavo Gabarro from Argentina as her replacement. The band recorded 3 more albums with Mr. Gabarro before he left in 2007. All of that now bring us to the present as White Skull have once again chosen a female singer as his replacement. The newest members name is Elisa “Over” De Palma. The rest of the band line up is completed by: Tony “Mad” Fontò (rhythm guitar), Danilo Bar (lead guitar), Alessio Lucatti (keyboards), Jo Raddi (bass) and Alex Mantiero (drums). Okay, enough of the history lesson. The band have just issued a new CD with this new line-up called “Forever Fight”. The CD opens up with the classical tinged intro, the appropriately titled “We Are Coming”. From there it segues into the energetic opening track “Escape”. This is about as metal as it gets. The band are firing on all cylinders and the choice of Elisa “Over” as the new vocalist appears to be a good one. The band definitely seem to be revitalized. This song features a great guitar solo as well and some cool interplay between guitars and keyboards, giving it almost a 70’s progressive/arena rock feel. But the heart of this band is still rooted in the metal genre in 2009. “Feel My Rage” is next and judging by the title one might expect a rip-your-face-off metal number, but after starting off slow it settles nicely into a great mid-tempo track. This song is just fantastic and one of the best that this CD has to offer. Once again there is some great guitar work on display here, as it can be heard all throughout the 13-songs and 58-minutes worth of great material on “Forever Fight”. Next is “Spy” and it does nothing to slow things down. It keeps things going at a nice pace with a gritty, heavy guitar riff. “Attle and Bleda” is next and is another strong track. This has a nice catchy chorus that you can sing along to and this track should go down great live. The title track “Forever Fight” is just a take-no-prisoners headbanging metal track. This is another cut that really stands out. “Boudicca’s Speech” offers a bit of a change of pace with a pretty piano intro accompanied by Elisa‘s vocals. On the whole it is a nice ballad that really shows that this band can do more than just head bang. Other highlights include: “A Mother’s Revenge”, “Heavy Metal Axes” and “Visions”. “Forever Fight” is definitely a return to the original mission statement of White Skull. The albums White Skull did with their previous male singer were very good as well, but it is nice to see them get back to how they originally started. They are a band who are proud to fly the flag for true metal and that is one of the most endearing traits of this band. Their music is straight-forward and definitely from the heart. With “Forever Fight” the band continues to forge a strong career that hopefully will not go unnoticed for long.
Rating – 85/100
Tracklist
- We Are Coming
- Escape
- Feel My Rage
- Spy
- Attle and Bleda
- Forever Fight
- Boudicca’s Speech
- A Mother’s Revenge
- Heavy Metal Axes
- Etzel
- Visions
- Beer, Cheers
Line Up
- Elisa “Over” De Palma – Vocals
- Tony “Mad” Fontò – Rhythm Guitar
- Danilo Bar – Lead Guitar
- Alessio Lucatti – Keyboards
- Jo Raddi – Bass
- Alex Mantiero – Drums
Links
MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site