SKELETOON is an Italian Power Metal band known for their penchant for concept albums on movies and whatnot. Their last album is called ''They Never Say Die'' and it was an homage to the legendary movie, The Goonies. They are not your prototypical Power Metal band, using a lot of humour and nonsense in their songs. This is their fourth full-length album and they were formed by lead singer Tomi Fooler back in 2011. Most of the band were in a HELLOWEEN cover band called Jack'O Lantern before forming this band.

It's a rare instance to review a band like SKELETOON a second time. It shows how many years I have been at Metal Temple, safe to say it does not happen very often. I did a review of ''Ticking Clock'', their 2017 album and it was a pleasant surprise for a genre that got stale for almost a decade. They continued releasing material after that and I was happy to be able to review this new opus.

Leaning towards an album with a more serious approach, ''Nemesis'' derives a bit from the previous material offered by the band. The lyrical themes are more sci-fi oriented that anything they have done before and I do not know if it's specific to one show or movie. I tried to follow the lyrics and the titles of songs but nothing really came to mind, it's pretty much an overall theme than anything you can actually pinpoint. The lyrics are most profound, more researched yet the blazing choruses are ever-present like most of their albums. What really detaches itself from the previous albums is how grandiose it feels. It feels like a huge orchestra and backing noise that make it larger than life. It was reminiscent of the concept albums by RHAPSODY and BLIND GUARDIAN, everything sounds so majestic and loud. You are quietly bombarded by catchy choruses, longstanding guitar solos and a massive wall of sound.

The two songs that really stood out for me were two of the last three songs. ''Arcana Opera'' could have been in a full-fledged Epic RPG, it sounds straight from a video game. I am pretty sure they were influenced by the works of Nobue Uematsu from the Final Fantasy games. This sounded downright epic and it's full of life. I think they would do a great job doing a whole score of a videogame, they have the talent for it obviously.

Safe to say (again with that expression!) that ''The NerdMetal Superheroes'' is a bombastic effort. The song is very reminiscent of what GLORYHAMMER has been doing these last few years, a more comical approach but embracing who they really are musically. They are the self proclaimed Nerd Metal Superheroes so a song about themselves packs a real punch! It's stupid fun and they can make fun of themselves and make good music at the same time, this is a prime example.

SKELETOON are easing their way to Power Metal stardom and inching close to bands like BRAINSTORM, POWERWOLF, BLOODBOUND and GLORYHAMMER. They are on the brink of really breaking out in a genre where not many bands have been able to stand above everyone else.