With a name like SkeleToon, I wrongly presumed that these Italian rockers were some fun-loving hardcore band, but not so. They are a rather tasty Power Metal outfit, who have their roots in the speedy riffing of Helloween – very nice. However, they do like a joke, even when the music is super technical and serious.
SkeleToon was born in 2011 when Mr. Tomi Fooler (Vocals) decided to form a band that was not in a genre that was considered cool at the time. He brought with him an ethos of humor first! The band is made up of Fooler, Charlie “Roxy” Dho (Bass), Henry “Sydoz” Sidoti (Drums), Andy “K” Cappellari (Lead Guitar) and Fab “BLACKIE” Taricco (Rhythm Guitar). Ticking Clock is the follow up to The Curse Of The Avenger, both of which have been released via Revalvc Records.
I am rather partial to a plate of European Power Metal and this album certainly sated my appetite with some of the most catchy metal since Rizon‘s last release.
There is a playfulness here that matters. The record opens with the ominous sound of thunder and rain and then a radio is heard playing some Eighties standards when the theme to Ghostbusters blasts out and the band breaks into “Dreamland“, which is all harmony guitars and speeding drums. The song reminds me of prime Helloween and it is no surprise that these boys played in a tribute band earlier in their career.
The whole album gets under your skin (get the joke?) and I find myself humming tunes from it at the most inappropriate times. The collection seems to have a common thread of night time, with “Drowning Sleep” and “Mooncry” being too songs in that vein.
Sometimes it is fun to pick out deliberate nods to their musical heroes, with segments of Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters” and Guns N’ Roses‘ “Sweet Child Of Mine” clearly popping up during the speedy grooves.
I enjoyed the album far more than I thought I would and the feeling of youthful fun flows over it…Give a Skeletoon a chance why doncha?
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5YWp2QMYYU[/embedyt]
