Skyclad - A Semblance Of Normality

Artist : Skyclad

Title : A Semblance Of Normality (2004)

Genre : Folk-Metal

Rating : ***** *** (out of 10*)

This Week I'm Listening To...
Skyclad came recommended as an English Folk-Metal band, but ASON also has some great Hard Rock tracks on it, as well as 14 members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra adding strings to a couple of the songs.

They've been around since 1990 and, along with Bathory (who?) are said to be the founders of the "Folk-Metal" genre. ASON is their most-recent studio album, although they also released a 4-song EP in 2006 titled "Jig-a-Gig".

What's To Like...
The lead singer ...umm... sings. As opposed to snarling, grunting, screeching, and/or breathing heavily. You don't need the lyrics sheet to understand what he's singing Everyone in the band seems to be musically gifted; even the drummer (please tell me this isn't a drum machine). And at times, there's even ...surprise, surprise... harmonizing! There is a pleasant musical variety to the 13 songs. You won't get bored by every track sounding the same.

A majority of the tracks have themes of social and political issues. There is a subtle "English" humor to these songs, akin to Randy Newman lyrics. There are also some great guitar soloes, although it has to be said that, unlike UFO, not every song has one.

Track 3, "Anotherdrinkingsong" (sic) has a Korpiklaani-esque wit to it that will compel you to go have a pint at your local pub. Finally, the title of Track 11 is "NTRWB", an acronym not even Alan will know.

What's Not To Like...
This is the first album after one of the band's founding fathers and lead singer, Martin Walkyier, departed. Some feel there is a let-down, but since I haven't heard any other Skyclad albums, this isn't a problem for me.

The "pure metal" tracks (such as "Do They Mean Us" and "Ten Little Kingdoms") are musically the weakest links of ASON, although even then, the issues-oriented lyrics make these tracks worth listening to.

Where Have All The Musical Activists Gone?...
The social-political leanings of Skyclad are unashamedly left-wing and working-class. That dovetails neatly with their name, "Skyclad", which is of course derived from... well, I'll let you google/wiki that bit of trivia.

This makes me wonder - where have all the politically-active counter-culture Rock-&-Roll bands gone? In my day, you had folks like Joan Baez, John & Yoko, and Country Joe & The Fish to remind us of the injustices going on in the world. Even the folksy group Lindisfarne had a streak of anarchism in them.

So who are the activist bands of 2007? It's not like unjust wars, bigotry, political corruption and screwing-the-peasants are things of the past. I recognize that singing about these issues won't get a band much radio airplay, but that was true in the 60's/70's as well. I don't expect every musical act to be activist (we had Debby Boone and The Captain & Teneille as hit acts back then), but there ought to be at least a few well-known acts today that can be counted on to have challenging activist lyrics prominent on their albums.

But I digress. A Semblance Of Normality is a very good 8* album, despite the fact that Skyclad is a genre-founding band that is virtually unknown even in their home country. If you want to hear good folk-metal rock-&-roll, and listen to lyrics that are three steps ahead of the soporific drivel played on the radio today, pick this one up.