Old Skin - Consume

The old adage "Music is Art, Art is Music" seems lost on a lot of people nowadays, so thank go for extreme metal and hardcore. While the mainstream labels, radio stations and the like are trying to ram more RnB and dance down our throats, DIY bands and labels are providing ever more creative and lust-worthy releases. One fine example of the latter is this two-track release from Mancunian heavy band Old Skin.

Released at the of May, after weeks/months of mysterious hints on social media, Consume was made available to download and purchase digitally or on limited CD between the 26th of May and the 1st of June, before being taken down for good. The CD was limited to 100 and came wrapped in a giant patch and bound in string. This was the first output from Old Skin since their debut 7" "Maere" in late 2013 and marked a year of existence for this shadowy four-piece. It was recorded and mixed at No Studio (Iced Out, Esoteric Youth) and was mastered by Brad at Audiosiege (Cholera, Integrity).

Tracklisting:-

1. Swordcharmer
2. Snakeswallower

Old Skin crafted hefty, angry debut in Maere and Consume takes the dark-hardcore tinged Manchester sound of brethren like Esoteric Youth and builds on it with more metallic charm. Swordcharmer is a mix of Holy Terror mid-paced eeriness and off-kilter grind, with added rock n roll flair.

It’s great to hear a band carving out their own unique sound/identity so early on into their tenure, but as the opening riffs of Snakeswallower ring out, that’s exactly was Old Skin have done. There’s riffs a plenty and not a moment of wariness. It was a confident move by Old Skin to release such a limited score in the first place, but as Consume shows, it paid off in spades.

Old Skin Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wehaveoldskin