Deicide’s Glenn Benton had an inverted cross branded into his forehead, the better to prove that the unholy source of songs such as “Fuck Your God” doesn’t confine his sacrilege to the studio. In terms of ostentatious, omnipresent blasphemy, that’s tough to top. Skinless gives it a try, and while they might not win death metal’s evil pageant, they’re not exactly a contender in the congeniality category. The group’s twisted-intestine-typeface logo might scare away the squeamish, but if not, songs like “Tampon Lollipops” and “Pool of Stool” should do the trick. The group rewards stronger stomachs with sick humor, as with “Tug of War Intestines,” in which unattended children torture an accident victim at a hospital and stage an ominous Olympics with his organs. For the band’s first decade, Sherwood Webber’s guttural growl devoured and defecated these lines, adding incongruous menace to absurd lyrics. New front man Jason Keyser, brother of the band’s longtime bassist, hasn’t yet appeared on any recorded material, but reviews of recent stage shows confirm that he, too, can bellow “doo-doo” with demonic panache.
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2005.