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Strap into the time machine, set the dials for 10 years ago and set the Chronovisor to Halloween 1998 - guitarist Rick Scythe reminisces about USURPER's second album and first ever European tour:

"In the summer of 1998, we got together to record our second full length album, entitled Skeletal Season. This album was the first full length with our new label at the time, Necropolis Records. This album was actually written between 1996 and 1997 for the most part, but due to Apocalyptic Warlord (drums) quitting the band, we needed a bit of time to enlist another drummer, (Dave 'Hellstorm' Chiarella - ex. Funeral Nation, Disinter).

We actually had the concept and artwork completed in 1997 - Skeletal Season was to be a tribute to Halloween. Many tales of Cryptozoological Creatures, Werewolves, Haunted Cemeteries etc, were the theme to this album and the album cover was a very fitting tribute. It was painted by Finland's premier artist, Juha Vuorma and depicted a scne of grave robbers in a haunted Cemetery, with dead trees, gloomy skies and Jock-o-lanturns.

The original release date for Skeletal Season was to be October 31, 1998. Because of this release date, we actually headed out to Europe in November 1998 for our first ever European tour with Enthroned and Hecate Enthroned. The tour was a success and a total blast for us, but unfortunately, only the promotional versions of Skeletal Season were out at the time - as usual, the CD and gatefold vinyl were delayed and the Skeletal Season official release date was bumped to January 1999.

No worries though, because the cold, gloomy Chicago weather in January was still the perfect backdrop to Skeletal Season. This album was really weird for us and WAY more original than ANYONE gave us credit for at the time. We were still getting bombarded with the old "Celtic Frost clone" comments from ignoramuses, but this album was so much more than what the critics portrayed it to be.

We recorded everything organically. No overdubs, no pro-tools, no triggers, no synths... I know many bands have and still do boast this claim, but how many bands that put out a thick-layered atmospheric album claim this?

Although we weren't the best musicians, we were still willing to expand our horizons a bit. We used layers of feedback, chanting vocals, backwards messages, old guitars, vintage mics, gloomy tones to enhance the lyrical side of each song. We still included many straightforward headbanging metal anthems, but there were deeper elements to that album that not many seemed to key in on. It was ashame too because the original artwork and booklet layout really enhanced the gloomy Halloween vibe when viewed listening to some of the deeper tracks.

Needless to say, critics didn't like it much, the label didn't really dig it and that kind of set our minds to stripping down some of those dark, melodic, epic elements on future releases and making Usurper much more impactful rather than cerebral (for lack of better words).

Having said all that, I feel it's time for a shameless plug of my new project, Nightshade (Official) and our debut album/DVD Autumnal Equinox.

This band/album kind of takes the concept of Skeletal Season era Usurper and really expands on it. We have the exact same vibe, only now these dark, creepy, organic elements are magnified. The chanting vocals are very present, the use of strange stringed instruments, organs, fiddles, pianos are really brought to the forefront and the overall vibe is uniquely it's own. The doomy, gloomy elements are still there, but so are many up-tempo rock elements.

After Usurper broke up in 2007, It would have been easier to create a new band that sounded like Usurper. I had the entire next album (music, lyrics, artwork) totally complete, (It was to be called Talons Of Steel). I know it would have been much more accepted, especially in this day and age when the whole thrash revival is more present than ever, but I have to leave Usurper as a special thing.

It is weird though when I think of how much shit Usurper used to get for, sounding too much like mid/late 80's thrash metal, and how unoriginal we were accused of being and how much we just copied older thrash bands and mocked and all that - it is funny that over a year after we broke up, now it's perfectly acceptable to completely rip off bay area thrash... not only the music and lyrics but the image? FUCK TRENDS!"