Initially released digitally May 21 to coincide with what was apparently – to some religious nutjobs – supposed to be Judgement Day (oh well, there’s always next year) ‘Dead Magick’, the debut album by Icelandic alternative rock trio Dead Skeletons aka the monks of the Dead Temple and part of the Vebeth music and arts collective, was released in physical form November 11. I strongly urge you to check it out, because it’s nothing short of awesome…

Who are they?
Jón Sæmundur Auðarson aka Nonni Dead (DEAD), Henrik Björnsson (Singapore Sling), Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt (Asteroid4) and various guests.

How’s the album?
Having been diagnosed with HIV in 1994 the central themes of both frontman Auðarson’s output as an artist and ‘Dead Magick’ are death and therefore life, the first richly represented in the atmosphere of the album, the latter evident in the theme setting mantra “He who fears death cannot enjoy life” of album opener ‘Dead Mantra’. From beginning to end it’s a 70+ minutes krautmarish ride of the darker regions of mind and soul, yet even at it’s most psychotically psychedelic there’s an elegant light at the end of the tunnel – the bossa nova silly ‘Psycho Dead’ the only exception in terms of the mentioned elegance. Here drone, kraut, post-punk, rockabilly and psychedelia blend to a massive wall of dark sound paying tribute to acts like Suicide, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Neu!, and the result is exceptionally haunting. It’s the case of a life here to be lived, so go do it with your ears full of one of the most stunning albums of 2011.

Check them out if you like:
Your morning cereal with a drop of life affirming dead…

More Dead Skeletons:
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Genre: Alternative rock
Who: Dead Skeletons
Album: Dead Magick
Label: A. Records LTD
Year: 2011
Country: Iceland
Language: English/Icelandic
DOWNLOAD VIA gogoyoko.com

Recommended tracks:
Dead Mantra – Om Mane Peme Hung – Ljósberinn – Lifðu!/Live! – Yama