Skitliv
Skandinavisk Misantropi

THE REVIEW

For those who usually follow my writings, the number of days that have passed between my last review and this one will seem really unusual.

My time is very limited at the moment, due to the songwriting I started for my musical project, but I want to tell you about this band.

Skitliv simply means "shitty life", both in Swedish and Norwegian. Everyone has said this phrase at least once in their (shitty) life...

The aforementioned is a side-project headed by two really shady individuals: Maniac (known for his stint in Mayhem as a vocalist) and Niklas Kvarforth (leader of Shining, a well-known Depressive Black Metal band). Simply psychotic, but we like them that way.

Accompanied by guests such as Attila Csihar, Gaahl (ex-Gorgoroth) and the legendary David Tibet, among many others.

The Skitliv recipe is a well-crafted mixture of Black and Doom Metal, crawling at very slow, dark, and nihilistic rhythms. I wouldn’t call it the classic Black & Doom mix, though.

The tracks do not fall below 6 minutes, as one might have already guessed, and manage to differentiate themselves with surprising effectiveness. For lovers of both genres, this band, and album, could be a great revelation.

I quote a few key tracks to present the overall concept of the album. "Slow Pain Coming" gives the first demonic taste of the sound, whose spirit is predominantly Black Metal (one of the few tracks, it must be said): no problem for Maniac, who skillfully navigates these oppressive riffs with a scream more malevolent than ever, in form and extraordinarily better than his performances with Mayhem; "Towards The Shores Of Loss (Vulture Face Kain)", one of the longest at 10 minutes, is introduced by the voice of David Tibet and his apocalyptic scenarios, then passes the burning torch to a psychotic Maniac; "ScumDrug" (with guest Attila Csihar), the longest and the closing track, is a sort of drugged and eerie jam, with the ominous blend of Maniac’s screams and Attila’s guttural vocals [the ones often incorporated in his performances with Sunn O)))], over a piano backdrop with a dark looping guitar riff, no drums, and no bass.

Not suitable for minors under 18 years old.