Skeletonwitch

by Eduardo Rivadavia Although they only came together as a band in 2003, the members of Athens, Ohio's Skeletonwitch draw the bulk of their inspiration from artists and musical styles born all of two decades earlier -- namely the undying flame of classic, Bay Area thrash, its creative bedrock in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and, to a lesser degree, death, black, and Viking metal. First introduced via 2004's independently released At One with the Shadows album, and 2006's Worship the Witch EP, Skeletonwitch's retro-fitted, yet modernly executed creative vision arguably reached a new level of maturity with 2007's Beyond the Permafrost full-length, their first for Prosthetic Records. In any case, Skeletonwitch members Chance Garnett (vocals), Nate Garnett (guitar), Scott Hedrick (guitar), Eric Harris (bass) and Derrick Nau (drums) then set out to prove their metal mettle on tour, Flying V's cocked and loaded.