Iklwa

I enjoyed Skinflint’s 4th album, Nyemba quite a bit so I figured I’d like Iklwa as well. Much to my dismay, it turns out that Skinflint didn’t have its shit together by this point. Iklwa, the group’s 2nd full-length, though it has many of the sonic elements that were so appealing in Nyemba, is an unwieldy release made up mostly of songs that aren’t compelling or well-written.

The most noticeable failing here, one that becomes apparent right away, is the awkwardness of the album’s longer songs. Iklwa’s individual tracks tend to be more ambitious than the ones on Nyemba. This desire for epic songcraft ends up being the downfall of 'Mbube the Great’ and ‘Profit Making Funeral’, the two longest songs on offer here. These songs are more than seven minutes apiece and it’s painfully obvious that the band didn’t come up with enough material to justify either of them being that long. ‘Mbube the Great’ repeats an admittedly good riff too many times before the song gives way to wandering about five minutes in. ‘Profit Making Funeral’ is the album’s most boring number, starting with a long, tiring series of riffs before the real song, which is far too reliant on its repetitive chorus, begins about 2.5 minutes in. Then after that there’s another extended instrumental section that serves no purpose. Both songs never get where they’re going or even seem to know what direction they want to head in. Even the introductory piece that starts off the album suffers from a similar sort of ungainliness as singer Guiseppe Sbrana narrates what seems to be the story of some local ancient myth (which features, to quote the song, a “gigantic giant”), with a lot of pauses that are supposed to be dramatic but end up just being weird and occasional acoustic guitar snippets thrown in.

While the band’s songwriter isn’t terribly skilled at crafting long songs, Skinflint doesn’t exactly thrive with this album’s shorter ones. Speaking of Sbrana’s vocals, he doesn’t sing the lyrics so much as narrate them through most of the album. They’re coarse, menacing, and instantly recognizable but his delivery’s as flat as a tabletop. His riffs also don’t bring a whole lot of excitement most of the time. The bass, meanwhile, is busy and noticeable but doesn’t provide us with much of interest. Even the better parts, like the rigorous gallop in the title track and the ominous riff in ‘The Fallen’ (one of the album’s few moments that actually has a sinister vibe) are often weighed down by the rest of the song they’re in, which often consists of ambling slower passages that don’t make for effective buildup. While each song except the intro has at least one good section, they tend to get lost amid lackluster moments.

At this point in its career, Skinflint was still clearly pushing through some growing pains. All the elements needed to make a good traditional metal album, like Maiden-esque gallops and slower Sabbath-esque riffing, are here but the songwriting just doesn't bring it all together in an appealing way. While Iklwa hints at the skilled songcraft and compelling ideas the band would eventually have at their disposal and delivers the uniquely Sub-Saharan vibe that makes them interesting, by the time they put their sophomore album together, they had quite a few lessons still to learn.

If you haven't heard of Skinflint before then you can hardly be blamed seeing as they are Botswana's first Heavy Metal band, making them geographically speaking one of the most obscure acts around. They are now also now the first band (to my knowledge) to hail from the African subcontinent to have proper distribution in the northern hemisphere, both for their 3rd album released earlier in 2013 and this reissue of their second album from back in 2010. Considering how, whether a fan of traditional Heavy Metal or not, most people will have a natural curiosity in how this band sounds I have to say releasing these 2 albums is a smart business choice for Pure Steel. One might expect the label to promote this find of theirs rather shamelessly, like a conquistador returning with “savage” people in chains, or that the promo sheet for this release might read like one of Alexander The Great's letters to Aristotle, but in fact what they have written is very sober, preferring to talk about the music rather than dwell on the curiosity of the band's location. In their haste to infer that this is a band whose music would stand up regardless of where they came from Pure Steel even make bold comparisons to the mighty Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol- boasts that unfortunately prove to be hollow.

Pure Steel don't seem to be interested of playing a game of trivialising or fetishising Skinflint's difference, but there will still be listeners looking to do so, some out of innocent curiosity some maybe out of a more sinister intention of wanting to find grounds to reinforce their stereotypes of Africa and its people. Unfortunately this album's 2 and a half minute intro track seems to do that for them. It sounds equal parts like Iron Maiden's “Quest For Fire” and those “New Age/World Music” albums made by anthropologists where they exploit choirs of pygmy natives and never pay them royalties- narrated by the baboon from The Lion King.

Before anyone attempts to aim of a charge of racism at me for that description let me say that it comes from the fact I feel it has a potential to be demeaning and embarrassing, the same way as an Irishman I find a lot of “Celtic” Metal embarrassing and even offensive. There's incorporating your own culture into Metal and that's all well and good, but you also need to know when it fits and when it doesn't, and unfortunately this kitsch spoken word piece just doesn't add anything positive.

For anyone listening with racialized motivations the “fun” for them mostly stops there. Sure there is some “ooh-ooh!” chants on opening track proper “Iron Pierced King” and the lyrics do dwell on Botswana warrior culture and history (for example “Mbube The Great”) but at no point does this break into Sepultura style tribal Metal. The music is far from great though, and those comparisons to Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol never really materialise. A case might be made for the slower tracks like “Burning The Soul With Diesel” and “The Fallen” but it's hard to make a true analysis between these tracks and an album like Frost And Fire when it sounds so thin. That lack of dynamism in the production is the main issue, rather than anything to do with the musicianship and in any case sounding thus was probably inevitable given the location. Most bands from impoverished southern hemispher countries get away with poor production values as part of their charm, as is the case with south-American or southeast-Asian Black/Death/Thrash bands, but as a traditional Metal band Skinflint aren't really afforded that luxury. Rather than distributing their 3 albums to date maybe Pure Steel would be better helping the band get to somewhere in Europe for future recordings?

There is musical aptitude here, particularly in the solo sections where this album is at its most enjoyable, but overall I would say that Skinflint are far too indebted to Iron Maiden. There is taking influence from someone and then there is hero-worship in need of toning down, like on “Profit Making Funeral” which sounds like various guitar, bass and drum bits from various Maiden songs simply stitched together in new combinations. It is far from the worst Maiden rip-off band I've come across, but without a second guitarist to harmonise those guitar leads they are not going to be one of the best at it either. Curiosity, for whatever purpose, is going to be the main reason to check this album out, but as for a reason for repeat listens there really is none. [2/10]

From WAR ON ALL FRONTS A.D. 2013 zine- www.facebook.com/waronallfronts

Skinflint will be one of those bands from Africa to really watch. They already have two albums under their belts with an EP and a live compilation on the way. But what do they sound like? Have they really got the goods? That's what the masses want to know...and I'm here to let the masses know.

Skinflint have the goods in spades and whereas my 70% rating might suggest to you otherwise, it is simply because I feel they are simply just warming up and that this is far from the best they can offer. And yet it is good enough!

Few African bands playing metal are capable of delivering music with such dirty traditional metal roots, brutally honest to the time honored aesthetics of scrumptious riffs and mad solos and peppered with equally gruff and soaring vocals. Most African bands, especially those from down South prefer to play generic, extreme metal that is no different from the output injected into the music world by stalwarts such as Nuclear Blast and Roadrunner. Luckily, a few bands from the continent are heeding the call of playing metal the traditional way, among them; Wyvern from Egypt, Wrust from Botswana, Ancient Influence from South Africa, Vale of Amonition from Uganda and SubMission from Namibia.

Skinflint leads them all because with their thorough understanding of the genre, they have managed to bring forth a unique element that portrays Africa and Africanness and thus makes the music truly their own. Although there's lots of influences in their music-most notably Iron Maiden but also Diamond Head, Thin Lizzy and possibly Slough Feg-they dilute thiswith syncopated rhythms, tribal vocal chants and swampy melodic solos that give the songs a "texture of the plains", like they are live and reporting from the Savanna amidst a storm of shields and spears - a desperate, dank scene a world away from the guns and artillery that fuel present day warfare.

Songs like "Iron Pierced King" which sounds like a clever revision of "Run To The Hills" and "Iklwa" charge majestically onward with their venomous intent clear. The former laments the invasion of the white men upon African soils with the opening lyrics; "With the black book/Book of the cross/They used it as tool/To rob and tame our lands" while the latter is a morbid-gleeful celebration of a "stabbing blade" with infinite powers.

The band's lyrics are of a mostly cynical nature and a tortured albeit gleeful tone. Giuseppe Sbrana handles the vocals and sounds disturbingly like Bruce Dickinson but with a nastier edge to his voice.

It is his guitar playing that saves the album though. Song after song is drenched in layers of riff magic - palm muted rhythms countered against driving chorus melodies and whining, screaming leads playing through gentle harmonies and astonishing scalar runs. The bass shines with Rush-like pomp and the drums play the syncopated patterns perfectly.

On the epic, "Mbube The Great", the band acts as a unit and show what they are individually capable of while "When You Die, You Die!" reckons Iron Maiden's "Die With Your Boots On."

The record is good but not thorough enough...you're left with the feeling that the boys are just getting started. It is a restless affair and they are yet to carve out their niche. But the groundwork has been nicely laid and for that: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!