Skanners - The Serial Healer
My Graveyard Productions
Tradition / Power Metal
10 songs (42:44)
Release year: 2008
Skanners, My Graveyard Productions
Reviewed by Jerrol

Having only been able to experience Skanners through their last CD Flagellum Dei, which was one of the better traditional Heavy Metal releases I had heard in years, I was very excited to get my hands on their latest release The Serial Healer. I was hoping for the same aggressive traditional metal found on their previous and the Skanners deliver the goods on most of the CD. The Serial Healer is without a doubt for fans of old school Metal acts such as Judas Priest, Accept and Grave Digger, who will appreciate the continued dedication this group of northern Italian bards has for the genre.

With a long history in the metal scene, The Serial Healer being their fifth release in twenty-two years, it is not surprising that the Skanners have been able to hone their skills and craft solid Metal soundscapes. Skanners are led by two original members, guitarist Fabio Tenca and Vocalist Claudio Pisoni. Claudio is graced with a voice that can only be compared to Metal God, Rob Halford. Like Rob, Claudio is able to grab a song with his voice and carry it to another level. Fabio’s guitar work is solid and extremely well performed throughout the album. Also, rounding out the foray are returning members, guitarist Walther Unterhauser and bassist Renato Olivairi, as well as newer drummer Kranauer Christian.

It does not get much better than the first five tracks of The Serial Healer. From the heavy opening riff of Soul Finder through the gallop of Iron Horse it show that these guys have an undeniable passion for great hook laden traditional metal. They start mixing things up with the title track trying to create more of a song with more of a US metal tinge, although performed well, this does not work so much for me and actually sounds more dated and almost desperate sounding then the rest of the material, oddly reminding me of late 80s Keel. They keep things at a more controlled pace with The Dream, bring to mind some slower Priest moments, before returning to their familiar onslaught with Flash Razor and Beyond Darkness. The Serial Healer wraps up with the acoustic driven Immortality.

It always surprises me when a band of this talent seems to get overlooked by the metal community. Claudio is an amazing vocalist and should be mentioned alongside the great vocalists of this form of metal. If you get in the mood for some older styled metal do yourself a favor and check out Skanners, even though they are not breaking new ground they are without a doubt building upon the solid foundation poured by the forefathers of metal.

Killing Songs :
Welcome To Hell, To Die Is Not Forever, Iron Horse
Jerrol quoted 78 / 100
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