I was a huge Skeletal Earth fan back in the day. I traded tapes and letters with vocalist Travis Ogletree for years, so in 1991 when their first full length album came out entitled "Eulogy For A Dying Fetus," I was more than excited for it. It shares much with Napalm Death, but also injects some Pungent Stench style humor with catchy melodies and interesting hooks.
Skeletal Earth were the biggest and best of the TN/AL grind/death scene going on at the time that also included bands like Necrospasm, Cannibal Holiday, Mule Skinner, and one of my favorite unknown doom bands, Crematorial Death. The band split up in 1993 around the time I got a letter from Travis stating he had found God and was splitting the band up and selling all his metal.
"Eulogy For A Dying Fetus" proved to be just a stepping stone to much greater music later; my favorite being their 1993 cassette EP "Dreighphuck."
Skeletal Earth still remains one of my favorite bands to this day and I'm 41 years old.
ReplyDeleteBackground: I was the bassist in Afterbirth (another Huntsville band) at the same time that Skeletal Earth was together. I have known every member of the band since we were all about 15 years old, trying to start a scene. By the time that Skeletal Earth was formed, the scene gelled and was a hidden treasure of scenes of the era. At one time or another, I was in bands or jammed with the various members of Skeletal Earth. I can say first hand that they lived what they portrayed.
Here's a brief profile from my perspective of each member: Jared, the bassist, lived a very environmentally conscious life and was, in my opinion as a bassist, one of the best musicians that I have had the pleasure of not only hearing, but watching. Eric, the guitarist, had a very mild mannered profile until he picked up a guitar and then there was like a metamorphosis into someone who could create a sound that gave feeling that you were being run over by a bulldozer. And then there was Travis, the vocalist. Wow... he was everything that you hear in his music. He was one of the most friendly, caring people who I have ever known, yet at the same time had an almost Jeckyl and Hyde personality when he was on stage. A masterful performer, indeed! One show, the stage came apart during a song and Travis fell about 5 feet onto concrete, but as he crawled from beneath the scaffolding of the stage, he didn't miss a lyric! As far as Skeletal Earth's drummers go, there were 3 that I can recall, each brought a thunderous rhythm that almost blew you to the back of the venue.
An amazing experience to witness live, and the ability to capture that sound in studio, Skeletal Earth will most likely forever rank in my top tier of bands.