Review: SLEEPY HOLLOW - Skull 13

Pure Steel Records, 2012

Two years after leaving Attacker, their frontman, Bob Mitchell reactivated his old band, Sleepy Hollow. One could expect that the vocalist wouldn’t be able to stay away from his addiction and passion, singing in a metal band, for too long. This year saw the release of Sleepy Hollow’s second album, „Skull 13”.
It’s been exactly two decades since their debut. Listening to the new album, however, time seems irrelevant - as if it had either stopped or slowed down tenfold.
I’ll start with the downsides, or should I say, the only downside to the new offering. The production. There are moments when it sounds just plain awful, audibly defying today’s standards. But it’s understandable, seeing as the musicians had to take care of the bulk of things by themselves. The mentioned problem, however, isn’t a big issue when it comes to reception of the music itself - the most important thing on the album, after all. Listening to „Skull 13”, I initially was under the impression that the first four songs sounded rather modern. They are different from the other tracks, featuring lowered guitar tuning. Spirit-wise, however, they’re still US power metal all right. The other songs can be without hesitation considered, if you will, „oldskull”.

„Skull 13” contains material both diverse and coherent. There are both fast and slow songs. Complex musical forms are prevalent. There’s even one unusually epic song, „Epic (The Legend Retold)“. Pretty much every track has something interesting to offer; every one of them is part of the greater, well-thought out whole. There is no space for unnecessary sounds or fillers. I’m not denying that I prefer slower, massive songs - this album has them too (though no doom in there). Every single track grabs the listener’s attention and surprises them, be it with the riff, the solo, the mood or the vocals. No room for boredom. In two songs („Bleed Steel”, „Eternal Bridge”) the band comes close to sounding like Jag Panzer, in one they zoom forward steadily like Accept („Rear Window”), and in some others the sound is simply crushing, as if the listener’s ears were being sonically  bulldozed (think Black Sabbath; „Black Passage”, „Inquisition” and „Spiral Effect”). Such stylistic similiarities in this album’s case, however, are far short of shameful. Sleepy Hollow have their own style, roots and history and, without looking back, they play good, old US power metal. And, boy, do they rock at it.

Among the slower songs, the best are the very atmospheric „Bleed Steel”, which contains a kinda oriental-sounding solo and the elegant, almost magical „Spiral Effect”, a song for which they shot a video. The one that shines the brightest, though, is the longest track on the album - the complex, multicolored „Epic (The Legend Retold)”. As the title implies, it’s epic. It features aggressive, momentarily even screaming vocals. In „Eternal Bridge” Steve Stegg carved - or maybe summoned, as I think he must be some kind of wizard - a marvelous guitar motif. As far as the faster songs are concerned, the one that stands out for me is the galloping „Rear Window“, based around a pretty interesting riff.

„Skull 13” also features a neat instrumental, „Misery Waltz”. The partially-ballad „Midnight” could well be on „The Dark” by Metal Church. The calm verses blend well with the strong, slow, resonating choruses. And of course the proggy solo. This particular track would fit many a horror movie scene very well. 

The original compositions on „Skull 13” make this album a great listen. The great, thick riffs complement the unique, one of a kind (after David Wayne’s death) voice of Bob Mitchell. Steve Stegg, the band’s brain and composer of all its material, deserves a lot of praise for this offering. I can honestly say I recommend „Skull 13”, even despite its subpar sound quality. Personally, I think it’s the best metal album of 2012.

9  Tomek/Nevermore