not reviewing albums, I’ve learned execution trumps everything. No pet project, no kitsch, no absurdist or ill-advised concept is doomed from the start. Well, ain’t that aces for Skiltron, the premiere bagpipe-powered Celtic folk metal band originally from Buenos Aires (maybe!). Bruadarach is the sixth album with the Skiltron name attached, but the first since 2016. Significant turnover leaves only one original member in the band’s ranks, with the drummer and vocalist making their debut. Skiltron’s recent releases sported some fraying in the kilt, so maybe some new blood is for the best. After all, who knows Celtic folk better than two Argentinians, a Frenchman, a Finn, and an Italian?
Despite the turnover, Skiltron clearly know their way around the studio. Bruadarach is nothing if not polished, sporting a taut focus suggesting a veteran presence in the sound booth. The act’s heavy/power metal chops check the obvious boxes, swinging between fist-pumping rippers and mid-paced sing-alongs. The bagpipe is a tempestuous beast; your mileage with Bruadarach depends on your tolerance for it. Opener “As We Fight” establishes an uneasy, if passable dynamic between the pipes’ mainline melodies and Emilio Souto’s not-quite-backing heavy/power metal axework. The result is easy enough to latch onto, so long as you don’t mind shagging the haggis a bit. Unfortunately, that’s the ceiling.
I know it’s my job to pinpoint The Key Failing in Skiltron’s sound, but it’s too damn hard with so many options. The blame game power rankings stand as follows: 1. Low-ceiling songwriting, 2. Poor vocals, 3. Bagpipes. Yes, I too am surprised that the bagpipes aren’t higher, and they aren’t even on this list for being annoying! Instead, my main gripe with Bruadarach comes down to overplayed weaknesses. Relative to even Skiltron’s past material—to say nothing of metal writ large—very little of the record hits with any punch (with the exception of “Rob Roy”). Most up-pace songs are interchangeable, most ballads tiresome and cringeworthy. It’s at best uninspiring dad-metal, seemingly designed for a listenership barely paying attention at the local Scottish-Argentinian heritage pub, with lyrics to match.
Worse, new vocalist Paolo Ribaldini is flat-out bad. I’ll give it to him, he has a distinct vibe that many vocalists aim for and miss. However, he lacks any measure of excellence past that; his delivery is flat and one-note in a way that only works when the music is equally milquetoast. Remember what I said about overplayed weaknesses? There are three (to four!) ballads on this album! Not a great idea when your vocalist can’t sing! There’s a weird seesawing to the songwriting and the vocals, and when the songwriting is at its best, Ribaldini is at his worst (“A Treasure Beyond Imagination,” “Where the Heart Is”), and vice versa (“Proud to Defend,” “I Am What I Am”). As such, the record is never unbearable, but rarely without blemish. Only highlight “Rob Roy” and to an extent “As We Fight” strike a passable balance worth the spin.
This brings us to Pierre Delaporte’s omnipresent bagpipes. I don’t not like bagpipes, but I don’t not like them nearly enough for them to drone across what feels like every second of Bruadarach’s 44 minutes. While the curl of the skirl1 is quite clear, it isn’t suited to be the melodic output of music that wants you to play it more than once. It’s so tough to parse the instrument that I can’t say if the directions would be successful if given to the guitars. All I can say is that in those rare moments where the rest of the band has anything to do, the album is actually alright. The acoustic picking and folk flutery on “A Treasure Beyond Imagination” are the coolest pieces of the spin.
No one of these elements would damn the record if the others picked up the slack. A bad vocalist isn’t a death knell if you’ve got the riffs. Bad writing is passable if the performances stand out. The bagpipes would be… fine if they were applied logically instead of as an object of worship for which Skiltron shall haunt the Argentinian highlands until the Gathering. By their powers combined though, Bruadarach is less than the difference of its parts.
Rating: 1.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps
Label: Trollzorn Records
Websites: skiltron.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/skiltron
Releases Worldwide: December 1st, 2023
