Band: SKINNED
Country: USA
Title: Shadow Syndicate
Label: XenoKorp
Year: 2018
Style: Death Metal

Review:
To be honest I thought this is a come-back from these Colorado, USA based Death Metallers, but actually they released another album just three years ago, even if by themselves, or probably that's the reason I haven't heard much about them lately. Hence Skinned are back 3 years later with their fifth studio album, one that marks not only the beginning of their collaboration with French Xenokorp label, but also a much more experimental approach, a wide opening by the band to an avalanche of influences from Black Metal, to Groove Metal, to Power Metal, to Thrash Metal, plus a lot of atmospheric stuff, more than I would have ever expected from Skinned, but all blended so well into this material that the outcome is simply awesome. The 10 tracks are so diverse and interesting that it's impossible to get bored (well, if you're into this type of music, obviously), and honestly I believe this is the best album to date on that is placing Skinned on an exciting path to discovering their new "face". Brutal Death Metal is an obsolete term for describing the band's current approach, so I'd label it as Experimental Death Metal and recommend it to you all at least for a spin.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10

Contact:
skinnedofficial.bandcamp.com
xenokorp.com