In some ways, there's an unnecessary conflict occurring in the Metal scene, in these troubled times of unrest and social/political problems throughout the world: the fans from new tendencies and older Metal genres are going one against the other. I must tell both sides: fuck yourselves, boys, there's space for everyone, because we all are Metal fans. But the older side, some bands lack the needed vision of what they are doing and how they can make it in a proper way. Sorry, but Finnish quartet SKELETAL lacks this vision, for "Dreadful Life" is just a recollection of clichés.

It's just the Old way of playing Death Metal, with strong influence from the Swedish and British Death Metal Schools. The problem is not on doing that (you can play older genres without any problem), but must do things in your own way, not to fit in what the ancients have done in the past. The band has talent and potential, but they throw both aspects out to fit in a model eroded by time. The work from Tom Brooke on recording sessions and mixing is very good. He is responsible to make their musical work sound clear and aggressive, brutal but in a form that we can understand the band's musical ideas always in a very good form.

But the great problem of SKELETAL's music is that the band's members seem to be forcing themselves in this direction, not using their personalities to create their songs. It reminds me of the pattern of some guys that are always saying a band that their work is a shit only because the members are trying to express themselves. Bass guitar parts on "Death Works Overtime", the very good tempos on "Sewers of This World", the adrenaline flow on the guitars of "Downward Spiral", the bitter slow moments of "Reaching Out" and "Return to the Grave" shows the talent of the band, but they insist to be a clone of the Old School Death Metal bands.

Guys, forget what was told to you, create things on your own way and you'll be great. But "Dreadful Life" is just an album with potential, nothing more than that.