Skineater is a new entrant into the world of sometimes manic, sometimes melodic Swedish death metal, but these aren’t pimpled-faced kids just starting out. The lineup is filled to the rim with dudes who have been in Dark Funeral, Vicious, In Thy Dreams, Defleshed, Carnal Forge, among many others. It’s expected that Dermal Harvest, the band’s maiden album, lives up to whatever expectations may be placed upon them.

For the most part, Skineater live up to the billing as Dermal Harvest crosses all the T’s and dots all the I’s. They hit the melodic notes when expected, they blast away when they should, and there are riffs galore all over the place. In short, nothing is overly generic but on the other side of the coin is the most critical element: a lack of sheer originality.

Nothing within the ten songs hasn’t been played a million times before and the tempo changes/arrangements are usually telegraphed. A crisp production serves the music properly, but as good as the songs sound, they just don’t jump out of the speakers like any of the classic death metal releases that have preceded it.

Dermal Harvest is not a waste of time whatsoever because it’s a solid release. It’s just that without anything even remotely unique anywhere to be found on the album, it kind of loses its steam halfway through. Fans of early In Flames and mid-to-current Hypocrisy should enjoy this as well as the more modern Malevolent Creation groupies out there. It’s a perfect filler album until one of the blockbusters comes out later this year.

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