San Francisco, CA — Skinlab — one of the Bay Area's most tenacious forces in heavy music — is back with a declaration. The band releases their scorching cover of Hatebreed's "Last Breath" — a track that has lived in vocalist/bassist Steev Esquivel's head since his first listen. Produced, mixed, and mastered by the legendary Ulrich Wild, the cover is more than a tribute; it's Skinlab staking their claim on a hardcore anthem and dragging it deep into groove metal territory. And it marks the recorded debut of their newest member, guitarist Angelo Miles.
"Last Breath" is one of those metal anthems that hits you in the chest every time," says Esquivel. "We've been Hatebreed fans from day one. Our boy Brett Makowski — Buzzard — turned us onto them on our first tour. We were instantly blown away by the pure aggression and energy. Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire is one of the heaviest albums to this day. I've been wanting to do 'Last Breath' for years."
In Ulrich Wild's hands, the track becomes something new without losing its soul. "It's always a challenge to do a cover song justice," Wild explains. "You have to stay true to the original yet adapt it to your own style. It's easy to simply play the song — any cover band does that. You have to catch the vibe, but allow yourself the freedom to experiment within the boundaries of the composition. With 'Last Breath' we're taking a very raw hardcore track and pushing it into the groove metal world for which Skinlab is known. Along with that come multi-layered vocal tracks — Steev's signature sound — and new dimensions with additional guitars and a solo."
“Loving this cover of Last Breath! Some different sounds in there going on too, putting a cool twist on it and taking it to a new place. If you haven’t heard it yet, go check it out!”
-Wayne Lozinak, Hatebreed
"Last Breath" is the first recorded music to feature new guitarist Angelo Miles, and the band couldn't be more fired up about it. Esquivel says it plainly: "This will be the first music featuring Angelo. We've done a few tours together now and everything has been going great. We all get along and share the same love for the music. Very stoked to have Angelo in the band — he's a beast and one of the best humans I've ever met."
Skinlab is hitting the road as direct support for groove and thrash legends Exhorder on The Tour of Unsound Minds. Kicking off April 2nd in Morgantown, WV and running through April 19th in Cadillac, MI, this is an 18-date run you do not want to sleep on.
“I am really excited for this tour. I’ve been an Exhorder fan since the Slaughter in the Vatican days. It’s an honor to share the stage with them. The fact that we pretty much cross genres with them makes it even more interesting — while they’re rooted in thrash with a New Orleans sludge factor that we embraced early on in our own career, there’s a natural connection there. This is going to be a heavy bill every single night.”
— Steev Esquivel, Skinlab
TOUR DATES — EXHORDER + SKINLAB
4/2 Morgantown, WV — 123 Pleasant Street
4/3 Rochester, NY — Montage Music Hall
4/4 Albany, NY — Empire
4/5 Portland, ME — Genos Rock Club
4/6 Providence, RI — Alchemy
4/7 Manchester, NH — Space Ballroom
4/8 Hamden, CT — Jewell
4/9 Amityville, NY — AMH
4/10 Harrisburg, PA — Capital City Music Hall
4/11 Manalapan, NJ — Locals
4/12 Chesapeake, VA — Riffhouse
4/13 Atlanta, GA — 529
4/14 Raleigh, NC — Chapel of Bones
4/15 Piedmont, SC — Tribbles
4/16 Chattanooga, TN — BoneBar
4/17 Dunbar, WV — Live at The Shop
4/18 Chicago, IL — Reggie’s
4/19 Cadillac, MI — The Venue
Comments
Post a Comment