Skanners
Pictures Of War

Since I have reviewed Italian metal bands like Vanadium, Strana Officina, Crying Steel, Bulldozer, Sadist, and Extrema, I now wanted to revisit Skanners. This band was formed in Bolzano in the eighties and is still active today, performing concerts and recording more albums.

The current lineup consists of Claudio Pisoni on vocals, Fabio Tenca and Walter Unterhauser on guitars, Renato Olivari on bass, and Christian Kranauer on drums. Skanners belong to the Italian power and classic metal scene, the latter influenced by some American bands, becoming one of the most respected groups by fans and critics. In the mid-eighties, the band entered the market with "Dirty Armada," a beautiful album with a powerful and bold sound like the title track, in the anthem "Rock Rock City" and "TV Shock", with power outbursts, similar to Helloween, in "Starlight" and the eponymous "Skanners".

In 1987, their second album was released, which I will review, namely "Pictures Of War," which is considered by many to be the most important record of their career. Skanners further intensified their sound compared to "Dirty Armada," with influences from some American metal bands, such as Twisted Sister, while still maintaining the classic power/speed style. The album opens with the title track, a very engaging ride, with a nice refrain, interspersed with good power riffs and excellent vocal melodies, demonstrating from the first notes the band's evolution. That is, very powerful and wild rhythms and a great performance by the band, showcasing their technical and compositional skills. The second track "Something Very Special" is a very fast piece, almost speed, with an extremely effective riff and a furious chorus that makes this track one of the most beautiful on the record. With "Drowning Down The Drain", Skanners deliver another good dose of pure power metal, while with "She's Like A Boy" you encounter the album's first hit, a beautiful song with excellent melodies, very engaging riffs played in class metal style, giving me the feeling that it would have been an excellent launch single.

"Fight Back" is a tremendous outburst, an exceptional power rush, with very fast and quite hard riffs and refrains. Certainly the most aggressive track on the entire CD. With "Turn It Louder Now", we return to the eighties AOR metal schemes, with some references to N.W.O.B.H.M., a historical and very beautiful riff, supported by Pisoni's good melodies which flow into the airy chorus, like Journey. Perhaps the Skanners track I'm most familiar with. Also, "We Are The Night" is a very catchy and interesting song, while "Wild" is one of Skanners' most beautiful ballads, offering a style similar to Judas's "Turbo" and "Point Of Entry" and Twisted Sister from the late eighties. The album ends in a masterful manner with the powerful "One Night", equipped with a very beautiful and captivating rhythm and a really convincing performance by the band that worthily closes their second effort.

After the success of "Pictures Of War," Skanners will continue to offer high-level music with subsequent works like "The Magic Square," containing the hit "Metal Party" and the latest "Flagellum Dei," endowed with very beautiful tracks like the title track and "Time Of War".

TRACKLIST :

1 - Pictures Of War

2 - Something Very Special

3 - Drowning Down The Drain

4 - She's Like A Boy

5 - Fight Back

6 - Turn It Louder Now

7 - We Are Night

8 - Wild

9 - One Night