Interview with Skinless vocalist Sherwood Webber | By Hutch
In the realm of horror and gore soaked death metal, New York’s Skinless sit in the pantheon. One of the heaviest, fiercest, and ugliest death metal bands, they formed in the early 1990s and released a quick demo in 1994. Returning after a 10 year hiatus on June 2, 2015, with Until the Ruthless Remain, the band have not lost one iota of ferocity. The instruments are tuned low. Growling about war, death, and savagery, Skinless return to Relapse Records and spew their twisted imagery over gnarly crunching riffs and blistering drums.
Vocalist Sherwood Webber is walking through downtown Denver past a “dispensary on every block,” as he looks for coffee. While no longer a smoker, he is a Denver resident for the last 10 years and is excited about the city’s newfound capital. “It’s the Wild West out here,” he says. “The benefit is great, because the residents get the tax rebate revenue.” He explains that the impact of dispensary profits is greater because there are no Federal Banks collecting taxes. “The cash stays local.” Too bad the business world is swooping in like vultures. “Investors are raking it in,” he says. “They are buying real estate, driving up the market. But it all pushes tourism.”
Since Skinless is known for the darkest, angriest death metal from the harsh environment of upstate New York, Webber’s sunny, jovial demeanor while wandering through Denver may seem shocking. Only the Ruthless Remain assures any doubters that neither geography nor time has impacted the treachery of Skinless. Webber relocated because he “needed a change of pace. I had an epiphany after touring one year. I had been talking about moving with the Cephalic Carnage dudes.” He followed the urge and landed in Denver. As a snowboarder, he feels instantly at home. He works as a promoter and organizer of outdoor festivals and shows. Isn’t it all jam bands and dirty hippies? “Well, then, I can just ignore them and focus on work,” he says. “If Dying Fetus played Red Rock, I would get nothing done.”
After playing Maryland Death Fest in 2011, Webber booked Skinless at Denver’s Black Sky and the idea sprouted to play more shows and even record again. “Everybody has kids and real jobs,” notes Webber. He checks his phone continuously as his wife is pregnant and the baby is “about to drop at any time.” Webber continues, “This record comes at a good time. It is definitely the most fun I ever had making an album. I flew back [to N.Y.] every couple of months. We sent digital files. It worked. They couldn’t get sick of me.” Due to Webber’s home studio, he could record at his own pace. “I was already familiar with the songs. We slammed a bunch of beers and knocked it out.”
Tom Case recorded Only the Ruthless Remain at Edie Road Studio and Doomsday Bunker Studio, both in upstate New York. North of Albany, the real estate allows for what Webber describes as a “big, huge drum room” at Edie Road, which “made it feel more organic.” You can hear it, too. The first track, “Serpenticide” oozes with the multiple layers of drums, all attended to in the mix. The toms feel like a separate entity than the snare and kicks. The cymbals are layered among the riffs, adding dimension. Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage, Primitive Man) tracked the vocals at Flatline Audio in Denver. Brad Boatright (Obituary, Nails, Integrity) mastered the tracks at Audiosiege in Portland, Ore.
Webber dispels any iota of anxiety as he returns to the mic after a decade hiatus. “There was no trepidation,” he offers. “I have been doing this band since I was 16. These guys have an incredible work ethic. The vibe was like old times.”
Webber praises the entire team. “Brad’s mastering killed it. He knows when to push volume without muddying the sound, like today’s standard. I don’t care for that current sound; elements are precision, volume, and edited. [Young bands] just push the volume. The tracks are mastered hot. There is no headroom to get distortion. Brad knows how to balance and keep clarity.”
Skinless will prove why they are titans in this game. The guitars are thick and brutal. The title track champions slow riffs that beg for breakdown pits to explode. The six and a half minute adventure crushes with fast riffs until the molasses montage. Volume is not an issue. “We have volume and heavy without something to prove,” Webber says. “It’s the lows that make death metal cool, those little things.” The third track is entitled “Skinless,” and necks will be snapping to keep pace with the chaotic, slightly grooved riffs. A wily solo pushes the five minute track past the bridge. Spurs of blast beats and hammering drums culminate into a melee before receding back into quicksand speed. Skinless refuse to ride an idea for an entire track, and display a frenetic dynamic.
Skinless will be taking their new material and a bevy of classics to the many stages. Maryland Death Fest 2015 will be a stop. Hellfest in France will be a victim. Then, in the fall, the band will tour the East Coast. “We want to do as many shows as possible,” admits the riled Webber. “Beer and friends are so much fun, but our families are our priority. That makes the options unlimited, no pressure. We could not thank Relapse Records enough for their faith and patience.”
Webber continues, “I hate to say ‘hobby,’ but this is not our full time gig anymore. We are a blue-collar band. We take care of business at home first.” That attitude, mixed with age and experience, has birthed an incredible album, especially for a band of elder statesmen. “When you have limited time, you put in a heightened effort and quality. I hate to overstate how much effort goes into a death metal album. We do leave room for impulse, but this album is extremely focused.” Relentless in its execution, Only the Ruthless Remain exposes the band’s feral drive. That carnal instinct lends itself to the material. They must have rehearsed just enough, as Webber explains he never wanted to “beat it to death and make it sterile. The material has to stay raw and animalistic.”
The screeching screams layered with guttural growls on “Flamethrower” and “The Best Smells Blood” show that Webber’s vocals have lost not a single step. “I kept up through the years singing with Enemy Reign’s tours and records,” he explains. His vocals fit perfectly in the grand, chaotic opening of “Funeral Case,” showing the production of Case and the mastering of Boatright. A small solo leans back in the mix, adding texture without grabbing the spotlight. “Raw as fuck, but heavy and clear,” Webber summarizes the method.
Imagery and atmosphere still have a dense impact on Only the Ruthless Remain. The gore and viciousness of life fuel their lyrics. “There is no social message. I stay away from that,” Webber admits. Like peers Exhumed and Autopsy, the pictures in the listener’s mind are for the sake of release. Webber shakes off the thought of having an agenda. “Too much thinking is for life and work, not death metal.” That confirmed, Webber explains the making of the first video for the album. “It was so much fun! We did in 27 hours straight. We were in some room, filled with cigar smoke. We had a blast! We hammered through beers and pizza.”
Skinless may be disconnected, if you count by miles, but these brothers are closer than ever, continuing their legacy with Only the Ruthless Remain. The quintet fires up death metal the old school way to burn the farm down. Ashes swirl in the air as if on the plains of Hell. The time changes in closer “Barbaric Proclivity” describe the crumbling of worlds, drenched in depravity. “Only hope/ Quick demise/ Silent flash/ Obliteration.” Only the Ruthless Remain is a fitting soundtrack for this legend’s rise from slumber.
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