SKYCLAD / Prince of the Poverty Line (1994)

My interest in Skyclad is dependent primarily on Martin Walkyier's presence, particularly his vocal style, his gift for lyric writing and his clever wordplay. It may be hard to believe, but the usually happy jig music comes second to that. The PotPL album is heavier than previous works, which to my ears is a good thing.
The more serious tone reflects the more serious concept of urban decay in a post-Thatcherite Britain. It no longer conjures images of faeries dancing idyllically around fly agaric. It replaces those with flies buzzing hungrily around a cardboard shack. It's gloomy but it's a type of progression.

Songs of Note: The One Piece Puzzle; Womb of the Worm 

3½ simple solutions out of 5

SKYCLAD / Tracks from the Wilderness E.P. (1992)

A Thin Lizzy cover, two non-album tracks unavailable elsewhere, and three live tracks recorded during '92 at the Dynamo-Open Air in Eindhoven make up this rather average E.P. Walkyier and crew, with their violin and fervent sense of timing, manage to make the TL cover sound like Skyclad through and through, but the first new track is unexciting; part acoustic and part boring. The second reminds more of Sabbat. I liked it best. With the exception of the TL song, there's little on the E.P. that will appeal to anyone other than existing fans.

Songs of Note: Emerald; When All Else Fails

2½ unfulfilled wishes out of 5

SKYCLAD / A Burnt Offering for the Bone Idol (1992)

Lacking the wealth of memorable riffs that its predecessor had, but still sounding like a Folksy Sabbat thanks to Martin Walkyier's presence, Skyclad continued to progress in a genre they invented. The violin is used a lot more, sometimes beautifully but occasionally clumsily. Some of the lighter jigs still make me chuckle in places, but that's okay, it's part of the charm. Lyrically it's as sharp as ever. At time of writing it's still strangely out of print, so if you see it lurking in a second hand store, that may be your only chance to snap it up.

Songs of Note: Salt on the Earth; R'Vannith

3 moonlit ley lines out of 5

SKYCLAD / The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth (1991)

Believed to be the first ever Folk Metal album, Martin Walkyier's post-Sabbat band never really found a target audience; no one was ready for it at the time of release, so it fell by the wayside. You can hear the Sabbat Thrash in there, but the Folk elements come to the fore a lot in the melodies and instrumentation. It has Walkyier's usual hurried vocals but the Folksy shanties and mandolin, fiddle, and acoustic moments give it a very schizophrenic identity.
Heavier than most Folk fans like and Folksier than most Heavy fans like, it's an anomaly that nevertheless still sounds amazing twenty years later.

Songs of Note: Terminus; Trance Dance

3½ odes to ancient and modern out of 5