“We would say that Skelethal is a classical Death Metal band that brings nothing new but doesn’t sound like a cover band.”
Skelethal is a brutal death metal release and after hearing the band’s new album “Within Corrosive Continuums” on Hells Headbangers I hooked up with vocalist/guitar player Gul Haunting for this interview:
I don’t know who is doing the interview, but please let me know how all of you got together. (obviously, I found it when I got it back – Chris)
GH: Hey, Skelethal was formed in 2012 as a two-member band. We recruited live musicians in 2014 to play live. The band saw a few line-up changes until today. For two years, we have had three permanent members: Lucas on guitar, Julien on bass, and me on vocals/guitar. We play live with Pierre from Hexecutor, who kindly helps us on drums.
You released 2 demos and then in 2014 you hooked up with Iron Bone Productions and released an EP called “Deathmanicvs Revelation”. How did this come about? Thoughts on this release these days? Why did you choose the cover tune “A Violation of Something Sacred (Sacrilege cover)?
GH: Collaborating with them is a regret so not comment. Me and ex-drummer Jon love Sacrilège and we thought it could be cool to cover it with a death metal approach.
Another EP was also released later in the same year (2014) by Iron Bone and you did “Torn Apart” (Carnage cover). Why that particular tune and why a new release so fast? Thoughts on it these days.
GH: We did everything DIY in those years, we had material and enough time to rehearse and record so we did it. Carnage is the band that influenced us the most in those years so we were glad to play and record this song.
A compilation that was released before you hooked up with the fantastic label Hell Headbangers in 2017 and released “Of The Depths…”. How did you hook up with them and thoughts on this release these days?
GH: We sent an email to Pulverised because our music was only out on LP and tape yet so we thought it could be a good point to have our releases on a compilation.
Before I go further, how did you come up with the band name and logo?
GH: We found the name while reading Death Metal lyrics, I don’t remember which. We added an H to have a more personal word. Ex-drummer Jon did the logo, I re-designed it when he left the band.
Now do you think around this time you were coming into the Skelethal sound so to speak?
GH: We did our best in the do-it-yourself way.
How did the Hells Headbangers release do for you guys? Did you get to play many shows and did you see the popularity of the band grow at all?
GH: Yes, being on HHR helped a lot, we reached more ears and it allowed us to play gigs in many countries.
A 7″ on Hell Headbangers followed the full length and then another full length came out in 2020 on Hells Headbangers called “Unveiling The Threshold”. How did the songs for this come together? How does a song come together? Is it a band effort or one or 2 members mostly?
GH: In the early years, I wrote most of the material. It’s with Unveiling the Threshold that Lucas and Julien begin to bring ideas/riffs. We now work a lot like it, mixing material from every member.
How was the feedback on the above release? Mostly positive I would assume.
GH: Yes, we had good feedback with this album. Having a video clip also helped to spread the release.
A 7″ split came out on Carbonized Records. How did this come about and did you record one song just for it?
GH: We planned to tour with Canadian death metallers Outre-Tombe so having a split together to support the tour was a good point. We had recorded the song during the Unveiling the Threshold sessions, we mixed and mastered that one ourselves for the split.
Now we come up to your new release, “Within Corrosive Continuums”. When did the writing start for this release and how quickly did you have the songs together?
GH: I can’t tell when the songwriting began because some riffs are old. But we started to rehearse songs in 2022 and then our ex-drummer decided to leave the band. So nothing happened for one year. In 2023 we hooked up with session drummer Marti Uibo and worked hard to finish everything and be able to record in October 2023.
How has the response to it been I think it’s fantastic myself.
GH: So far the feedback is great on our side.
Do you think the band’s sound has changed much over the years?
GH: Yes a bit, we were full hm-2 until the last album, then we decided to use it differently to find our own sound.
Are any tours planned for this release, if possible?
GH: We just toured Canada for 7 dates with our brothers Outre-Tombe from Quebec! That was fantastic.
What has working with Chase and Hells Headbangers been like over the years?
GH: All good, communication is great and they always agree to release what we want.
Are, to your knowledge, all your releases still for sale?
GH: Nope the largest part is sold out, but I’m sure it can be found in distros or on the internet.
For someone who has not heard the band, what would you say you sound like music-wise?
GH: We would say that Skelethal is a classical Death Metal band that brings nothing new but doesn’t sound like a cover band.
Please plug any websites and social media sites you have as well as merchandise. Where can people find your music as well?
GH: https://linktr.ee/skelethal
Horns up for doing this interview, any last words to say to wrap this up?
GH: Thanks for the interview and hello to all the readers!
