Metal Underground.com

Swedish metal act Skiller’s Myspace page says, “Skiller never die! They just reload!" It’s true that Skiller can’t die…they have yet to start. With their album/EP release in 2007, the unsigned band shows us why it continues to be unsigned. The five track album produced by Skiller themselves provides us with a dull impression many metal-core by-the-numbers bands give. Hailing from Sweden, the young five-piece band should have been more influenced by In Flames and Soilwork and taken their potential to the next level. For a band that is unsigned, I wanted to hear the best they have to offer. Instead, I got bored.

To be fair, there isn’t much material on this short EP. That being the case, I was expecting to hear five great songs. However, there are very few things to like about this album besides the cover-art, which is creative. The vocals on "We’re Next" follow the metal core formula, melodic choruses surrounded by vocals that overall sound as if the vocalist was gasping for air. It is a unique vocal style that doesn’t fit in well overall. The age of the vocalist is heard throughout the album, as his young 20s voice plagues more than benefits "We’re Next."

The guitars - lead and all - do not bring much creativity and talent to the table as far as riffs and solos are concerned. The album seems vocally stronger than anything else, as in the track "Mayfly." The production is well done, although the vocals come out a bit on top of the instruments. The production impressed me because as an unsigned band, the quality sounds close to top-notch signed bands of the genre. With that kind of quality, Skiller should have made the guitarwork shine as it does solely on the song "Heads of Tomorrow." "Heads of Tomorrow" is their strongest track on the entire album and should have been dubbed the single, mainly because its catchy yet creative riffs capture you. The song almost feels like it doesn’t belong when compared to the rest of the album. An album with only five tracks should not contain fillers.

Overall, Skiller seems full of potential and production talent to make something more than "We’re Next.' It is a hollow album, short-lived and shortly played. I was disappointed but not surprised. Are they really next?