Heavy Metal Band Styles

Viking Skull was formed in 2002 in Corby, with Roddy Stone (vocals), Waldie (bass), Gordon Morison (drums), and Frank Regan and Darren Smith (guitars). The band quickly released their first EP, aptly titled “Chapter One,” enabling them to open for HIM during the 2003 UK tour.

Two years later, the band’s debut album, “Born in Hell,” was released. Things seemed promising for the group, especially when they were invited to join a major tour with Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, Viking Skull couldn’t participate. Despite this setback, they managed to feature a track on Bam Margera’s compilation “Viva la Bands” and perform at the 2006 Download Festival. Internal tensions led to the band’s breakup.

However, less than a year later, Roddy Stone decided to reform Viking Skull with Waldie and new members Julian Cooper (guitar) and Jesse Margera (drums, brother of the latter). They recorded an album in the United States with some members of CKY, released as “Chapter Two” along with the EP “Blackened Sunrise.”

In 2008, the band returned to the studio to record their third album, not titled “Chapter Three” but rather “Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey.” Rich Vose and Dom Wallace played guitars on this album, which was released at the end of the year.

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“Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey” (2008)

Well, here’s an album for the summer, even though in the realm of Rock ‘n’ Roll, we’re talking about girls, booze, and fun all year round. As you might have gathered, Viking Skull doesn’t dabble in subtlety or sophistication; the headache here is more likely the result of a massive whiskey bender than any soul-searching troubles.

So, it’s Rock and Roll, as they say. Or rather, it’s Heavy Rock with a decent groove (check out “Doom Gloom Heartache & Whiskey” and “In for the Kill”). It’s the kind of stuff you’ve heard dozens of times, but it still goes down well when you’re not in the mood for deep listening. Here, you just nod your head to the frenetic beat of tracks like “In Hell,” probably the best one, but sporadically, of course. Let’s not get carried away; it’s too hot to go wild. Obviously, nothing really grabs your attention; you know right away that you’re not dealing with anything revolutionary. But the fun is there, and the tracks flow smoothly, the key for an unpretentious album.

Overall, the album goes by effortlessly; it’s not monstrous, barely thirty-five minutes. But hey, that’s not a bad thing, because we’re already flirting with overdose. The atmosphere doesn’t really lend itself to having your eardrums battered for too long with hefty manly vocals, thick riffs, and a battered drum kit. Given that everything sounds somewhat alike ( “Start a War,” “Hair of the Dog,” “Double or Quits”…), a bit more and it would feel like you’re listening to a single never-ending track. Fortunately, the band knows how to introduce subtle yet refreshing variations that allow you to breathe, like the tempo slowdown on “In Hell” or “19 Swords,” or the acoustic guitar intro of “Shot Down,” for example.

In the end, this album is just a big celebration of whiskey and having a good time (look at the final track, “Drink” – a bit of the Southern Rock moment of the album), the kind of record that truly shines in the summer, playing in the background if you’re not the Pina Colada type, a true dude. Yeah. In a similar vein, let’s not forget the existence of the French band The Buffalo’s, discreetly and cleverly advertised in these pages (a subtle and well-placed shoutout).