Cannibalistic cosmic horror, damning solitude, brutal otherworldly possession and amped-up sonic brutality introduce us to the core examination of emotional and physical extremes suffered throughout the altogether mayhemic vision behind ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘, the fifth and potentially newly defining album from Whittier, California-based death metal band Skeletal Remains. Another infusion of fresh blood, years of larger than life touring, and persistent venture into unreal exaggerations of ancient realms have done well to pull the steadfast vision of the band further out of their relentless early 90’s ‘old school’ death metal mindset toward the darker recesses of late decade pre-millennium extremity. Now knee deep in their entirely consistent discography and yet unfaltering in their representation of classics-minded canon these folks continue to tap into the real thing managing authentic craft, violence and venom striking well above the bar for nostalgia-built death metal crews.

Skeletal Remains formed back in 2011 after briefly operating under a different name, largely the vision of guitarist and vocalist Chris Monroy who’d basically cut his teeth as a lead guitarist for Fueled by Fire on their second and third albums and starting up his own gig in the meantime. The band’s sound was distinctly inspired by Van Drunen-era Pestilence and Asphyx to start though their broader taste revealed itself as they’d cycled through members, gained in their abilities and began to tour in the process of releasing two albums via ‘old school’ minded underground label FDA Records in the early 2010’s. The style of the band was aimed more squarely at the ’89-93 school of death metal, specifically the Florida headspace and its influence upon other arenas, and their peaking statement in this regard was ‘Devouring Mortality‘ (2018) which still stands as a nowadays pillar of death metal nostalgia done right, uncompromised by hardcore trends or the usual lax musicianship and rushed creative process. That’d been the cap on the first era of the band as I see it today, you can read my review of that album which gathers most of my thoughts on the first seven years or so and how they’d gotten to that high professional standard which’d soon involved signing with Century Media and taking on even more frequent touring cycles.

Donning Dan Seagrave artwork, sporting a kicking mix/master from thee Dan Swanö, and blending self-recorded elements with Trench Studios engineered digs ‘Devouring Mortality‘ offered the prime standard upheld beyond that point but, as I’d thoroughly suggested back in my review of ‘The Entombment of Chaos‘ back in 2020, the stylistic focus of the band turned a bit more resolutely toward United States death metal and the brutality and swamped-over headiness of the ever down-tuning second half of the 90’s. Some of that might’ve been session drummer Charlie Koryn‘s style bleeding through alongside a healthy dose of Rutan-era Morbid Angel clearly on at least half of the pieces but either way it was a big album, a solid album that kept it airtight, nobody could walk away from that record and not be satisfied as a fan of pure death metal with substance and coming from a real-ass point of fandom. At a glance it’d be natural to think that simple enough formula had been iterated upon here roughly four years later on ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘, and at face value that much is generally true, but there are a few changes in line-up and a general directive from Monroy to consider before making that judgement.

The two new folks involved include Portland, Oregon-area musicians Pierce Williams and Brian Rush both of whom currently feature in the brilliant Ænigmatum among many other pursuits as drummer and bassist respectively. The hype should be obvious enough for anyone familiar with their other work, anything they touch is class and each have some history of brutality secured in these last two decades. This rhythm section and their chemistry is vital to the success of ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘ as the precision demanded by its wall-to-wall rolling brutality ups its ante both in terms of a demanding dual rhythm guitar weave and the blazing clip of their movement on most songs. If you’d paid as close attention to every detail of ‘The Entombment of Chaos‘ as I did you probably saw a heavier-hitting Skeletal Remains on the horizon but didn’t necessarily head into this record expecting them to double down and work on incorporating more tuneful pieces along the way; Plenty of bands tap into the texture, the tone, the atmosphere or the attack of bands like Morbid Angel or vestigial records like ‘Stillborn‘ and ‘Millennium‘ but it seems these folks have worked to rediscover songs (in the context of early death metal canon) as the major point of purpose for a death metal band, or, honing in on memorable and long-considered compositions to set themselves apart.

As Monroy’s vocals evolve toward a more commanding register and the technical array of his guitar work makes leaps and bounds with each record the interplay with second guitarist Mike De La O (Morfin) becomes both the cause and the lasting spectacle of their OSDM vortex. The swaggering-loose shredding of triplets within the main riff of opener “Relentless Appetite” and the thundering push up around them readily showcases the classic inspiration taken from Azagthothian dual rhythm guitar arrangements, a feat in and of itself, while the actual phrasing developed within said opener generates an unheard-of step beyond the urgency of ye olde Azagthoth/Rutan clash set in motion lending an immediate, blazing sense of direction. Of course most of this could apply to the previous LP in some sense but this time around precision, a renewed focus on leads and a rushed-at attack accumulates an appreciably extra vibrancy in their work. The first half of the album uses the momentum of that opener to sustain itself through the ~4-5 songs with “Forever in Sufferance” acting as the first serious bridge into more technical and brutal territory (ah via early Hate Eternal era craft squarely in the late 90’s realm of possibilities and even a hint of well-resisted quasi-prog death transitions that kick up a bit of extra dust on their tear through.

“Verminous Embodiment” and “Void of Despair” offer necessary reminder of what Skeletal Remains became best known for per their first three albums, a brilliant study of classicist thrashing death metal, and how much they’ve changed since their first record (in that order) as we step from the mad stomp of Side A unto the seeking elaboration of Side B. The big standout over on the second half otherwise the 7+ minute roll of “Unmerciful”, I believe one of the longest pieces they’ve written to date and a fitting point of focus which helps to shake up the pacing of the album before it ends. Of course I have to give mention to the Hate Eternal cover which closes the album, a doubly violent version of “Messiah of Rage” an Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) penned song from their 1997 promotional demo tape; If I had to give one general complaint with regard to ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘ it’d be the feeling that they’d stretched these ideas a bit leading into the second half and the tension of the full listen didn’t fully begin to open up until the final two pieces let Rush‘s playing shine through a bit more and allow the pace to ebb and flow at an easier rate.

At this point Skeletal Remains have done so well to embody their classic death metal inspired sound there is little to no room for dissent, all bases are covered and their general crew + curation are of the highest standard. The one thing they’ve always gotten right, the sheer attack of their work, only intensifies here on this fifth album though some case could additionally be made for ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘ being one of their more memorable affairs. This gives reason enough to expect a singular voice to eventually emerge from their nostalgia-built sound at in the future though for now they remain a classics minded and/or canonical act with very clear goals in mind. Even without the context of their sojourn bracing its high-toned affair this release should be rightfully treated as an inarguably well above-average work of pure ‘old school’ death metal inspired fare. A very high recommendation.

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