Published on Oct 12, 1999
One of the biggest problems with metal today is that much of
what comes out of Scandanavia is of the “warrior” mold, singing
tales of Vikings and slaughter, all for the glory of heavy metal
(and less for getting laid – guess that’s saved for the American
bands). On that thought, it would be easy to lump White Skull and
their latest disc
Tales From The North into that category.
Wrong move, amigo. First, White Skull is actually an Italian
band, though their sound is much better than what I probably would
have expected from a Scandanavian band in the same vein. (Some of
the comments I read about White Skull said it sounded like they had
a German influence – and after plowing through this disc, I don’t
think I would disagree.) Second,
Tales From The North proves to be an enjoyable, if harmless,
disc.
The band – vocalist Federica “Sister” DeBoni, guitarists Tony
“Mad” Fontò and Nick “B.B.” Savio, bassist Fabio Pozzato and
drummer Alex Mantiero – surprises not by playing their music in a
classical metal theme, but by how they seem to have mastered the
genre. From the soft, melodic intro “The Quest” kicking into the
Helloween-like title track, White Skull show they have the chops
and the songwriting needed to make a name for themselves.
This is all well and good, the critic – who has seen too many
bands of this ilk come and go – says, but what do they do that
separates them from the pack? Ah, that’s where “The Terrible
Slaughter” comes in. Breaking the mold of everything they have done
on this album to that point, DeBoni and crew slow things down into
a power ballad that has just enough crunch to the music without
going overboard. It would have been easy for Savio to have ripped
into a solo that set his fingertips ablaze, but he chooses instead
to play a controlled piece instead – one that complements, not
overshadows, the song itself. Three words: smart… very smart.
One other thing I’ll give White Skull for is that they don’t get
too heavily into the “macho warrior” bullshit that seems to be all
the rage in this type of metal today. (Like it ever went away –
there’s a reason why I haven’t listened to Manowar’s
Fighting The World since high school.) There is talk of
fighting and glory on songs like “Viking’s Tomb” and “Fighting And
Feasting,” but it’s much more played down than one would have
expected. And, more often than not, it seems like the album
embraces the entire Norse culture, including religion and death
(“Gods Of The Sea,””Viking’s Tomb”) than just mass slaughter for
the hell of it.
And while there are one or two moments where
Tales From The North sags a bit, the band is able to
transcend these brief slips and keep the adrenalin that makes up
this album going. The way they tie things up with the instrumental
outro “Still Alive” makes perfect sense, and is the ultimate way
for this disc to end.
So why do I call this “harmless”? Simple: Unlike some of the
discs I’ve heard in this vein, White Skull don’t seem to zero in on
the “blood and guts” aspect of the music, instead allowing the
songs themselves to speak instead of the lyrics. So even though
there is occasional talk of going to war, it’s almost easy to laugh
it off as a passing fancy.
I still question why such a type of metal is still so popular
(at the risk of sounding unhip), but if White Skull continue to
make music like
Tales From The North, then I guess I have no complaints
about the genre thriving.