“The second mouse gets the cheese” is a maxim which pretty much sums up the career of UK Folk Metal innovators Skyclad in a depressingly pithy nutshell. The first band to be labeled with the now commonly used Folk Metal tag, their pagan image, costumes, and use of fiddles seemed to constantly draw nothing but unwarranted mockery from certain quarters.
Although regularly gaining positive reviews, most write-ups would usually find a way to include some snarky, sarcastic comment, either attacking the band’s Pagan/Druid/Wiccan image, or simply resorting to calling them “mad as teapots”. So, instead of being the early bird, up at the crack of dawn and smugly munching on a bit of lovely worm pie, Skyclad merely found themselves paving the way for a slew of Folk/Pagan/Viking/Battle Metal bands, many of whom would ultimately become far more successful than their forward thinking progenitors.
Formed after vocalist/lyricist Martin Walkyier left Nottinghamshire thrashers Sabbat in 1990, Skyclad’s studio life began as almost a direct continuation of Walkyier’s previous band, as debut album The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth took the Thrash Metal sound of Sabbat but brought some very different ideas to the table. Fiddles and piccolos would not have suited Sabbat’s precisely honed Thrash approach, but by keeping to many of the same themes, and with Walkyier’s distinctive voice and clever lyrics at the forefront, Wayward Sons… sounded far more like the next chapter in Sabbat’s life than their actual next album, the disappointing swansong, Mourning Has Broken (Noise).
Crammed with fiddle-infused thrashers like ‘Sky Beneath My Feet’, ‘Our Dying Island’ and ‘The Cradle Will Fall’, it is on the jaunty ‘The Widdershins Jig’ and the mostly acoustic ‘Moongleam and Meadowsweet’ where the folk influence really takes its place in the spotlight. [8.0]
The addition of full-time fiddle player Fritha Jenkins for the band’s 1992 follow-up A Burnt Offering For The Bone Idol helped develop the band’s signature sound further, starting with their familiar thrashery on ‘A Broken Promised Land’, and ‘Salt on the Earth (Another Man’s Poison)’, but really bringing the Folk this time, most notably on cuts like ‘R’Vannith’, album highlight and live favourite ‘Spinning Jenny’, and the acoustic ‘Ring Stone Round’, a song so evocative of the middle ages that you can almost smell the druids. The far more aggressive ‘Men of Straw’ saw the band taking on the subject of child abuse, while ‘The Declaration of Indifference’ with its Guns N’Roses send-up lyrics was Walkyier’s first obvious sarcastic swipe at the record industry. Like TWSOMT, the remaster sounds great, although there are no extras or bonus tracks, but seeing as this one has been out of print for so long, causing many fans to wage war with each other on eBay over the years, now would be the perfect time to invest in the real thing. [8.0]
Changing their approach somewhat, 1993’s Jonah’s Ark saw Skyclad ease off the Thrash pedal and allow vocalist Martin Walkyier to stretch his talents as a vocalist. Although still imbued with trademark bursts of speed and aggression, Jonah’s Ark was a little more sedate than their previous couple of releases, allowing for more complex compositions and letting the keyboards, fiddle and mandolin sparkle in the mix. Even the bass gets to take centre stage on ‘A Word to the Wise’.
Unfortunately, it was here that many fans still clinging to the ghost of Sabbat began to lose interest, though Jonah’s Ark is anything but dull. Fast and angry (‘Thinking Allowed’), slow and introspective (‘It Wasn’t Meant to End This Way’), thoughtful and impassioned (‘Cry of the Land’), jovial but serious (‘Earth Mother, The Sun, and the Furious Host’), the moods are many and the lyrics are among Walkyier’s best. Although it must be said that his predilection towards bad puns and wordplay with titles like ‘The Ilk of Human Blindness’ possibly needed reining in a little.
The first reissue to feature bonus material, Noise have been good enough to include 1992’s Tracks From the Wilderness EP, featuring live material, two new tracks – one featuring a blast of thrash originally intended for Sabbat (‘When All Else Fails’) – and an absolutely blinding cover of Thin Lizzy classic, ‘Emerald’. [8.5]
For those missing the band’s earlier, more aggressive approach, the heaviness returned with a bang on fourth album, Prince of the Poverty Line. With a cohesion not heard before from the band, their 1994 release was the perfect marriage of Folk and Metal. Songs flowed better, performances were improved, and the production was the best they’d enjoyed to date.
Thematically, POTPL saw Skyclad striding into more contemporary, personal and sociopolitical territory, as warnings of class division, greed, homelessness, and depression took over, permeating the lyrics at every turn. Walkyier’s vocals, combined with sombre violins, downbeat keyboards, and angry, razor-sharp guitars help create an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and frustration on tracks like ‘The One Piece Puzzle’, ‘A Bellyful of Emptiness’, ‘Land of the Rising Slum’, ‘Civil War Dance’, and ‘Cardboard City’. Quite simply a magnificent record, the bonus material consists of the three tracks which appeared on the limited edition two-disc version of the album. [10]
The last of Noise’s reissues, 1995’s The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea continued the band’s journey into more contemporary and politically relevant areas, not to mention delivering probably the worst pun of their entire career with the album’s frankly ridiculous title. Thankfully, however, although there is plenty more wordplay and lyrical trickery cunningly sprinkled throughout the record, the music is still of the required high standard.
Although not quite as inspired as POTPL, Silent Whales still contains some of Skyclad’s best work. ‘Still Spinning Shrapnel’, and ‘Art Nazi’ kick things off with purposeful intent, ‘Desperanto (A Song For Europe)’, whether you agree with its blatant eurosceptic message or not, is as relevant today as it was twenty-two years ago, and the superbly written ‘Just What Nobody Wanted’ is a depressing anthem to the depressed, disconnected, and suicidal. And ‘Dance of the Dandy Hound’? Well, that’s just a bit of fun to finish things off. [8.5]
Superbly remastered with a decent amount of bonus material, these five reissues are definitely worth grabbing if you want to upgrade or replace your originals, have some brightly coloured vinyl liven up your record collection, or if you just fancy having a jig to something with a socially conscious, environmentally aware theme. Druids optional.
GARY ALCOCK