Skyclad

Skyclad is a group of Folk metal coming from England comprising many influences Folk in their music. They are regarded as one of the inventive groups of the Folk metal, the other influence of the kind being Bathory.

The group draws its name from the practice from ritual naked in the Wicca, or these ritual is carried out with literally take part “vêtu” only by the “sky”, as a sign of equality. This name also refers to the religious beliefs of the group and their social origins, as explained in the song " Skyclad" on their first album.

Biography

The group was formed in 1990 by the singer of the group Sabbat Martin Walkyier and the guitarist of the groups Satan/Pariah Steve Ramsey, after Walkyier left Sabbat of with a divergence with the guitarist Andy Sneap concerning the orientation of the words. The goal of its two artists was to assemble the “ultimate group of pagan metal” (the first designs of the group included some extravagances like costumes of Robin of Wood, but these concepts were later abandoned). Developing the group with another ex-member of Pariah, the bass player Graeme English, like Keith Baxter like beater, they signed a contract with the German label Noise International and recorded Off Wayward Sons Mother Earth in 1991. After a round with Overkill, they recruited Fritha Jenkins with the Violon and with the keyboard S as well as a second guitarist, Dave Pugh, adding even more sonorities Folk on the album which followed from there Burnt Offering For the Bone Idol has running 1992. The exits were connected, with Jonah' S Ark in 1993 and Prince off the Poverty Line one year later, in 1994, Cath Howell replacing Jenkins. It was in its turn replaced by Georgina Biddle for the album of 1995 The Silent Whales off Lunar Sea . After this album Baxter and Pugh left the group. Then not being able to carry out of round, the group recorded and left Irrational Anthems as Oui Avant-garde has Chance the same year, both with a beater being used only for the recording. The Answer Machine? followed in 1997 with always the same problem, the absence of a permanent beater in the group. But the beater Jay Graham and the guitarist Kevin " Riddler the Fiddler" Ridley (which was the producer of the group before) arrived in 1998, during the recording of Vintage Whine for an exit envisaged in 1999. The line-up remained the same one for the recording of the album of the year 2000 Folkémon , but the Walkyier founding member left the group in 2001, stating various reasons, like the financial problems of the group or the reserve of the group to travel in South America due to preoccupations with a safety. However the other members of the group denounced that the personality some time “prickly” of the singer was one of the causes major of the instability of the line-up. For many fans, the words written by Walkyiers as its way of singing was one of the strong points of the group. They thus feared that its departure signs the death warrant of the group. After having replaced the beater Jay Graham (which had left the group shortly after Walkyier) and to install Kevin Ridley with the song, the group turned over in studio to erase these fears with No Daylights… NOR Heel Taps (2002) which contained recordings wanting to be environment " Irish Pub" the traditional ones of Skyclad by new the line-up, preceded by individual in 2001, " Swords off has Thousand Men". The principal track of this individual, a resumption of an original song of Ten Pole Tudor), also appears on Folkémon like no-claims bonus track in a somewhat different version. The individual one comprises two recording of this song, one with Ridley with the song, and the other with Ridley dividing the vocal ones with the singer of Ten Pole Tudor' S Edward Tudor-Pole. This individual/album was accompanied by the round “The Same… But Different”, longest that Skyclad undertook for a long time.

has off Semblance Normality , left in 2004, is the first true album studio of the period " post-Walkyier" (there was some different between Walkyier and the other members from the group in connection with copyrights and royalties for its texts, as for the exit of songs in which it appeared), remaining in the style of the preceding exits. Texts of Ridley trying to extend on the same topics and in the same style as those from Walkyier, while maintaining an identity personal. This album probably has was diffused the most of their discography, undoubtedly thanks to a better distribution, and with the word of mouth. It received many criticisms positive, especially in the anglophone world, where, ironically (and in spite of the many word games populating their titles and texts, addressing itself for the majority to english-speaking of birth), the group is almost unknown. Contrary to the South America and the European continent where they are extremely popular, especially in Germany and Greece.

The last exit of Skyclad is a EP, Jig-a-Jig , produced by the group. A new album is in realization, and was to be on sale fine 2006, at least according to the first estimates. It was unfortunately without counting the bankruptcy of Black Lotus Records (the label of the group) at the beginning of 2006, which strongly has compromised these estimates. The album is at present always awaited.

Topics

Skyclad can about be described like a committed group. Their words deal with large variety of real topics (as well as personal problems, especially under the writing of Walkyer), like the Pauvreté, the Drogues, the Environnement, the Politique, the problems Urbain S, the Paganisme, the company and the Industrie. The polemics raised by the group are often based on personal experiences. The political ideology of Skyclad is generally gauchist, with leaning for the working class, although the group is not entirely liberal: the songs " Men off Straw" and " Catherine At the Wheel" among other, a strong repression against the abuse child, and " show; Ten Little Kingdoms" is anti-devolution. The writings of Walkyier for the group also reveal a certain fascination for the “predatory” sexuality of the women (" My Mother in Darkness" , " Polkageist! " , " Little Take" Miss;).

The group is known for slightly hiding the message of its songs in allusions or word games ( Womb off the WORM , Vintage Whine , Great Blow for has Day Job , Inequality Street ), although that was less pronounced in the albums more recent writings by Ridley, which supports a more direct writing. The puns and the word games, however, became for much an integral part of the group, and there is no proof that they were entirely excluded from the last compositions.

Music

Skyclad began their career by playing a form of Thrash metal with some influences of music Folk in their first album, especially on certain tracks. The addition of the violin, and undoubtedly of the keyboard, made it possible Skyclad to become gradually even more Folk during their various albums. Other major change being progressive reduction in the part Thrash metal of their music, and the emergence of another style similar to the Hard rock and the heavy preceding NWOBHM, with groups like Jethro Tull, Uriah Heep and Thin Lizzy. The style of the group started to diversify on their recent albums: Outrageous Fourtunes and No Daylights… Nor Heeltaps is entirely both Acoustique S, and can almost be qualified like traditional music folk of England, while Folkémon and has Semblance Normality off are much more Rock that the directly preceding albums.

One of the interesting characteristics of many albums of Skyclad is to propose short tracks, often as intro or outro, which tries out various styles of music, or various instruments. That includes tracks “of narration” (like “Visionaries Tunnel”, which parodies the famous paragraph of opening of the War of the worlds ), and of the songs using of the instruments like the Cornemuse, the Trompette and the Bodhran which are usually not used in the repertory of the group.

Discography

Albums

  • The Wayward Sons off Mother Earth 1991
  • has Burnt Offering for the Bone Idol 1992 off
  • Jonah' S Ark 1993
  • Prince the Poverty Line 1994
  • The Silent Whales off Lunar Sea 1995
  • Old Rope Compilation 1996
  • Irrational Anthems 1996
  • Oui Avant-garde has Chance 1996
  • The Answer Machine? 1997
  • Vintage Whine 1999
  • Folkémon 2000
  • History Lessens Compilation 2001
  • Another Fine Mess Live 2001
  • No Daylights… NOR Heel Taps Compilation/Re-recording 2002
  • Live At the Dynamo Compilation/Live 2002
  • has off Semblance Normality 2004

Individual

  • "Tracks from the Wilderness" EP 1992
  • "Thinking Allowed? " Individual 1993
  • " Outrageous Fourtunes" EP in limited edition 1998
  • " Classix Shape" EP in limited edition 1999
  • " Swords off has Thousand Men" Individual 2001
  • " Jig-a-Jig" EP in limited edition 2006

Line-up

Old Members

External bonds

  • Official site

  • MySpace Official site
  • official Forums
  • Skyclad Videos
  • Site referring the puns in the texts of the group
  • French Site of Skyclad

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