SKAVEN - Discography
August 9, 2014, 9 years ago
(Skuld Releases/Moshpit Tragedy)
Here's a bit of a crust/sludge historical piece, Skaven having existed between 1995-1997 in Oakland, this material recorded by Noah Landis of Neurosis, whose earlier material is a good starting reference point here. While at first dandruff flick it seems like the kind of squat crust punk you've heard a zillion times, there is a more thoughtful, sludge-y, apocalyptic undertone to it that the best crust bands have: you don't get to release a split with Dystopia, which Skaven has done, unless you're doing something at least a bit special. But while they may have had the spirit, these recordings, if you're hearing them for the first time in 2014, fall a bit flat; it comes across pretty demo quality, which is a shame, as songs like "Abscess," "The Swarm," and "Like The Worms That Crawl The Earth" definitely have potential lurking in them to move mountains and make the world notice, in a Neurosis kind of way. Instead, here they kinda push pockets of dust around my carport, but, hey, they tried, and given a huge production sound and a bit more maturity, this band could have been huge (uh, in an Amebix way, not a Guns N' Roses way).
