The drought is over. After years in the wilderness, homegrown heavy metal is finally making its return. No longer the stuff of our European forefathers, metal pure in both delivery and creativity, is gaining momentum at break neck speed in the western hemisphere. Leading the charge is Athens, Ohio sons of Midwest darkness SKELETONWITCH. Their sound, a mighty sonic fortress, finds its foundation in the classic sounds of American thrash, Scandinavian death and black metal and NWOBM. Much like on their Prosthetic debut, “Beyond the Permafrost,” these five raging, maniacal metal warriors show no mercy and take no prisoners on their new album, “Breathing the Fire.”
For the recording of the twelve blistering tracks that comprise the monstrous “Breathing the Fire,” SKELETONWITCH found themselves in Seattle, WA with legendary producer, Jack Endino (Nirvana, High On Fire, Soundgarden) behind the board and Scott Hull of Pig Destroyer handling the mastering duties. Tracks like “Crushed Beyond Dust” and the monstrous opener,” Submit to the Suffering,” are sure to whip even the most discerning metal fan into a psychotic frenzy.
“The new record’s a burning, f**king beast!” says Scott Hedrick. “We assembled a crack team of heavy music specialists to put Breathing the Fire together: it’s produced by “Full Metal” Jack Endino and mastered by Pig Destroyer’s Scott Hull. The drums are monstrous, Chance’s sickening vocals somehow sound inhuman while possessing amazing clarity; Evan’s bass sounds like Steve Harris, Lemmy, and D.D. Verni in blender, and the guitars sound like jousting chainsaws. A lot of people said that on Beyond on the Permafrost we married Black and Thrash metal. With Breathing the Fire they banged and had a kid. And that baby’s a burner!”
SKELETONWITCH’s vicious live show and fierce work ethic have also helped establish themselves torchbearers of today’s metal scene. They have logged countless miles on the road as they’ve crisscrossed the nation with the likes of MUNICIPAL WASTE, JOB FOR A COWBOY, AMON AMARTH, and DIMMU BORGIR, and will hit the road this fall with CHILDREN OF BODOM and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. The band also appeared at the 2008 New England Metal and Hardcore Fest, were hand were handpicked by Glen Danzig to open the 2008 “Blackest of the Black” tour and this year’s Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta, along with CONVERGE, MASTODON, HIGH ON FIRE and many more.
“White van, black t-shirt: that’s been my life since we started Skeletonwitch,” adds Hedrick. “We love and live for the road. We’ll play the enormo-dome or we’ll play in your f**king closet….we don’t care as long as we get to play. Actually being out there on the road and mixing it up with all the metalheads is what it’s about. We’re all one and the same; if we weren’t fortunate enough to be on the stage we’d be right in front of it.”
SKELETONWITCH was forged in 2004 and self released an EP, “Worship the Witch,” and a full length, “At One With the Shadows,” in 2006. The year 2007 saw the band sign with Prosthetic Records and release “Beyond the Permafrost.” The album received accolades in the U.S. and overseas and landed on many year-end, “Best-Of” lists including Revolver, Decibel, and Pitchfork. The album also reached #9 on the CMJ Loud Rock Chart.

“…they f**king slay!” – blabbermouth.net

“…it doesn’t get much better than this.” – Lambgoat.com

“Thrashes like Testament on a caffeine binge”-Metal Maniacs

“An instinctual need to bang heads and worship at the altar of all that is unholy”-Metal Maniacs

“Vicious…an excellent, twisted take on the genre”-Revolver

“These Ohio thrash master take everything awesome about early Metallica, Immortal, and Amon Amarth, throw in a fog machine, and crank out some of the most satisfying bullet-belt canticles of the last 15 years”-Rock Sound

“Diabolically juicy Bay Area thrash jams [that] get crispy around the edges via proto-black metal…the guitars are chug-tastic, always cocked and loaded, ready to unleash a torrent of old-school turbo-charged rock solos and instantly memorable riffs”-Decibel

“They’ll ascend to the ranks of the thrash gods in the future”-Exclaim!

Be sure to check out the monstrous “Breathing the Fire” and the demon that is SKELETONWITCH live!

Genre: Metal / Hardrock
Label: Prosthetic
Release Dates: 13.10.2009

Track Listing:
1. Submit to the Suffering 2:16
2. Longing For Domination 2:46
3. Where the Light has Failed 2:17
4. Released from the Catacombs 3:19
5. Stand Fight and Die 3:31
6. The Despoiler of Human Life 2:27
7. Crushed Beyond Dust 2:32
8. Blinding Black Rage 2:36
9. Gorge Upon My Soul 3:42
10. Repulsive Salvation 3:40
11. Strangled by Unseen Hands 2:55
12. ...And into the Flame 3:43