Life can be very frustrating sometimes. It was when I was trying to find anything on SKÜLL, as I only received the music. So, I really didn’t have anything to go on, not even a cover. When I do find something, it is on music sites, so there are no references to check and verify. Thankfully I also have Discogs, and there I found who the band leader is, but also who the musicians are who have contributed to this album. Which means that the list of musicians that I have put underneath this review come from that site. I have also found that the original release was independent and from May 2023, so this album has been circulating for quite a while. That makes not being able to find anything even more frustrating. Even the site of the record company King2Music Records doesn’t help me further, as it only shows a link to the Spotify account of the band.

So, I can only concentrate on the music, and SKÜLL has filled “Epistle I - Pickin' Up The Pieces” to the brim with Melodic Rock or (if you wish) AOR with occasional light Metallic influences. It is an album of just over 35 minutes with all the cliches that make Melodic Rock tick passing by from time to time. Is that a problem? Not really, as this does give you and album that delivers on all the expectations that you might have. But it also means that the music is very predictable, and if that is a problem for you, I would stay away. On the other hand, sometimes you just wish to listen to something familiar, in order to relax and let your frustrations go.

Because that is also an aspect of “Epistle I - Pickin' Up The Pieces”. It doesn’t get your blood pressure up; it will not get your heart racing. On the contrary, it will probably be a healthy alternative to Xanax of Valium. I’m not saying that SKÜLL will necessarily put you to sleep, but it won’t heighten your stress level either. What is worse than that is that the songs are not bad, and easy to remember, but you will forget them as soon as they have stopped playing. They just don’t get stuck in your mind. And still, I feel that this is not bad. Just not very good, either. I fear that SKÜLL will have to improve an awful lot before they make an “Epistle II”, otherwise nobody will touch it.