Skull Fist: Paid in Full

One movement in modern metal that has been picking up steam in recent years has been the ever growing NWOTHM (new wave of TRADITION heavy metal). Bringing us bands like Enforcer, Striker, Holy Grail, Crystal Viper and many more. All these bands have taken up the torch of classic heavy metal in its various forms. Everything ranging from Priest and Maiden worship, to USPM Manowar love and Thrash tend to be the tools of trade for many of these bands. Skull Fist most certainly falls into this family.

Skull Fist are a canadian band hailing from Toronto and in 2011 they made waves with their first full length album Head Of The Pack. This album, which attracted a fair amount of critical and fan praise showcased the band's fiery guitar acrobatics, love of classic Heavy Metal with tinges of Thrash and Speed Metal and with the soaring vocals of band leader Zach Slaughter up front and center alongside the exciting guitar attack. All this tinged with a pinch of 80’s Pop Metal catchiness in the realm of 80’s Scorpions.

Paid In Full is the band's fourth full length effort and despite numerous line-up changes the approach is for the most part a continuation from what they started way back on their first album. Paid in Full kicks off with the title track which is a mid-paced rocker with some cool guitar histrionics laced into the riffing, a very catchy if not slightly predictable chorus and some cool guitar sweeping and shredding to add the fire to the track. What’s very noticeable from the beginning is that the production has much more in common with their previous album 2018’s Way Of The Road with its far cleaner and more modern sound than their earlier albums. Of course it gives more clarity but in my opinion one of the coolest aspects of their first two albums was the very old-school 80’s reverb drenched production which just made everything sound more animated and intense. It all feels a little too safe and sterile for this kind of music. Every song on Paid In Full, more or less, follows a similar pattern to the album opener, just really varying up the pace and occasionally adding those Thrash and Speed Metal elements into the mix. Unlike their earlier albums I find myself waiting for the verses and choruses to get out of the way so I can enjoy the excellent guitar shredding and instrumental passages which absolutely slay. I would also say that in the past I liked the way Zach both used and produced his voice where as here even though he is a very talented singer with great facility I don’t particularly like the tone of his voice so i find the vocals somewhat inconsistent here, at times sounding awesome and at others very annoying and distracting. At times Zach sounds like he’s soaring through the clouds with ten ton balls and others like a little boy trying to sing metal.

Standouts for me include “Long Live The Fist� with its fantastic guitar exhibitions, “Blackout� which is pure heavy metal goodness, “For The Last Time� with its 80’s highway metal vibe and killer guitar solo and “Warrior Of The North� with its cool Speed and Power Metal attack.

If you are a music lover who wishes to discover new sounds and directions then Paid In Full is probably not the album for you. However if you want to hear heavy metal that owes everything to the late 70’s and 80’s classics then there is plenty here for you to enjoy. The performances are all excellent and the guitar playing especially is really a standout. Does it live up to their first few albums? Well not for me and in that sense it’s a disappointment, however, that doesn’t mean the album sucks, far from it. In many ways it kicks ass and NWOTHM fans are sure to love it.

Skull Fist:
Zach Slaughter- Vocals, Guitars
Casey Guest- Bass
JJ Tartaglia-Drums

Tracklisting:
1. Pain In Full
2. Long Live The Fist
3. Crush, Kill, destroy
4. Blackout
5. Madman
6. For The Last Time
7. Heavier Than Metal
8. Warrior Of The North

Added: June 5th 2022
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 634
Language: english

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