Athens, Ohio’s SKELETONWITCH make their Prosthetic Records debut with their thrashin’ Beyond the Permafrost. The band is firmly rooted in classic 80’s thrash but with more of a contemporary and extreme feel to them with the inclusion of blast beats and extreme metal vocal stylings. SKELETONWITCH play with plenty of youthful energy and enthusiasm as evidenced by the non-stop pace at which they play (each song lasts an average of three minutes). Beyond the Permafrost is very consistent in quality, pacing, and impact. And this exactly what holds the album back. While there is nothing bad per se about the album, it just doesn’t seem to have enough of everything to push it to another level and be able to compete with the big boys. Surely, there is a lot of busy guitar work throughout the album with SKELETONWITCH trying their best to kick your ass in every which way that they know how. However, it just doesn’t carry enough impact to impress (finicky) long time thrash fans. At the end of the day, SKELETONWITCH are still young and have room to improve and grow, which should ideally fuel their fire for better albums in the future. (Prosthetic Records)