The Cursed Island

Skull & Bones is a South American act mostly inspired by pirate metal acts like Alestorm or Running Wild. The Cursed Island is their first LP and it showcases humble beginnings.

Skull & Bones plays a classic mix of power and folk metal more oriented towards power (don't expect a lot of folk elements even if they use quite a number of folk instruments). We find the classic elements of power metal with catchy melodies and a lot of sing along choruses! For instance, the chorus of "The Chest of Billy Bones" makes usage of backing vocals that fit very well.

The guitar work is pretty good there, especially on the riffs department! For instance the riffs of "The Chest of Billy Bones" and "Ready for Quest" are very good. Even if the solo department is not matching the riffs there is still quality there! Skull&Bones doesn't use much folk elements overall but when they do it, they do it well, especially during "Captain Flint's Booty".

The production is very good, we can easily discern every instruments. The drums and the bass are very well produced and they really add to the music. For an unsigned band to have such a good production it is a real pleasure! However this album has two big flaws: the vocalist and its interludes.

Franco Tempesta isn't a really good singer. He seems to have a good sounding mid range with some exceptions like at the beginning of "Rum for the Crew;" the vocal lines are quite terrible. And it is worse when he tries to wail in his upper range, he really sounds misplaced.

However he has some good moments especially in "Captain Flint's Booty" where he doesn't sound the same at all! He even does some Rolf (from Running Wild) impressions with the mythic "Woooooohoooohohohooo" in "Long John Silver"! Overall the singer seems to improve during the album (maybe they recorded the album on a long period) and it is promising.

If you read the track list you will see that there are 5 interludes for a bit less than 39 minutes of music! That is a lot of interludes, and here it is a problem. Interludes are not necessarily bad but here they seem out of place and they break the flow of the album. The intro "Admiral Benbow Inn" is good because it sets the mood for the album, and "Set Sail!" is a good one introducing well "Rum for the Crew". But the other interludes really break the flow of the album with only some acoustic guitar and folk instruments and no real link between songs.

In conclusion, this album is a good power metal album with folk elements added to the formula. The tracks are overall varied with classic power metal songs like "The Chest of Billy Bones", faster tracks like "Powder & Guns", a typical ballad which is "Death & Treasure", and some power/folk songs like "Captain Flint's Booty". I hope the band will work more on the interlude usage and that the singer will improve in the next album!

Highlights: Rum for the Crew, Long John Silver, Powder&Guns, Captain Flint's Booty