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Skullflower



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Original post

Posted by , 05.09.2008 - 11:48
Thought I'd try my hand at putting my favourite band on here, see if anyone's actually heard them and appreciate their genius.

Skullflower, for all intents and purposes, play noise rock. It's very likely that Skullflower pioneered, in some form, the "drone" sound we see in Earth and Sunn etc. whether or not those bands were even aware of Skullflower's influence is unknown given the very different scene Skullflower conform to, not to mention the band's obscurity that seems very much contained within the UK, even today, over 20 years after their inception in 1985. Mathew Bower is the long running and consistant (and currently only) member of Skullflower but he's recorded songs with Influential artists from the likes of Nurse With Wound and Whitehouse.

Skullflower's discography is as varied as it is vast. Their early work consists of a very rocky orientated sound: sabbathian riffs overlayed many times to create a hazy soundscape, using percussion as part of the structure. 'Ruins', 'Xaman' and 'IIIrd Gatekeeper' are prime examples of this era, and some of Skullflower's best work to date. From here Skullflower went on to experiment with much noisier, less structured sounds using guitar feedback much like 'Obsidian Shaking Codex' but jumped back and forward with styles like on 'Exquisite Fucking Boredom' of which 5 of the 6 tracks consisted of the same riff played over and over, each version showcasing a different mix with variations of noise and distortion. 'Orange Canyon Mind' offered Skullflower's most accessible effort to date, playing an extremely psychedelic dronefest with winding riffing and electric fuzz, this was my first foray into Skullflower and it's still one of my favourites, even if it is far less out there than his last two efforts: 'Tribulations' and 'Desire For A Holy War' which signifies Bower's most extreme output to date. White noise feedback, no melody, seemingly no structure just layers upon layers of low-end guitar feedback. It's pretty unpalatable stuff but the intricacy and thought behind it is without comparison and multiple listens are very rewarding indeed.

This thread probably belongs in the rock thread but the extremity of the music warrants a more metal audience I feel.

There's a whole bunch of full tracks on their Last.fm page, I recommend trying out a few as their sound and style varies a lot between albums.
http://www.last.fm/music/Skullflower/+charts?rangetype=week&subtype=tracks
20.10.2010 - 17:14
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
I've read that there's a new album... "Strange Keys To Untune God's Firmament"

Any thoughts about it?
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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20.10.2010 - 19:57
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by X-Ray Rod on 20.10.2010 at 17:14

I've read that there's a new album... "Strange Keys To Untune God's Firmament"

Any thoughts about it?

Not listened to it all much but it's another in the line of his pure noise work, with maybe an undercurrent of melody (though very little if I recall). A lot of fans seem to like it. I'll give it a go in a bit.

Another awesome album name though.
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19.10.2011 - 22:35
spirit_inblack
harshhead
Really enjoying Transformer atm after having not listened to it for a while. The cover art and the cover of 3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Secs. are both ace, although I've not heard the original of that song.
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05.05.2012 - 17:22
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Skullflower doing drone back in 1989, before the likes of Earth even existed. Fucking love this demo/album:

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23.05.2012 - 22:16
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
I listen to this stuff on Youtube sometimes, I like teh song "Solar ANus" quite a bit.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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07.07.2013 - 13:40
mz

I just listened to one of their albums (last shot ...) and that was pretty interesting, eye opening and hard to digest.
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Giving my ears a rest from music.
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07.07.2013 - 17:31
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Dude, try to check out IIIrd Gatekeeper and Orange Canyon Mind. Both wonderful and unique albums (the former being a bit more accessible imo).
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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08.07.2013 - 13:10
mz

Written by X-Ray Rod on 07.07.2013 at 17:31

Dude, try to check out IIIrd Gatekeeper and Orange Canyon Mind. Both wonderful and unique albums (the former being a bit more accessible imo).

I've downloaded their entire discography but it is stopped at 99.8 %. Its the third week that I am eagerly waiting for some progress in torrent seeders
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Giving my ears a rest from music.
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19.08.2013 - 18:32
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted


New snippet of a track from the upcoming Skullflower / Mastery split. Quite excited by this as it appears to be a sound not done by Skullflower before. He's exchanged white noise for heavy drones.
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19.08.2013 - 19:14
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Guest on 19.08.2013 at 18:32


New snippet of a track from the upcoming Skullflower / Mastery split. Quite excited by this as it appears to be a sound not done by Skullflower before. He's exchanged white noise for heavy drones.

That was nice.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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