For Those About to Squawk: Waldo Pecks on Voivod, Skeleton and Khthoniik Cerviiks

“Happy” 4th of July, Beak Freaks. It does seem that the release schedules are picking up a bit for the time being. Let’s talk about some stuff here that you should or maybe should not peck out.

Anyone that knows this birdbrain, knows that Voivod is one of my favorite bands. Of like all times.  Even in their “dark days”, they still released solid metal records. So this is weird… End of Dormancy is an EP, with well… the title track, and some remixes of the title track “End of Dormancy” which originally appeared on 2018’s The Wake.  The main difference here (and it’s not much of one) is there’s a “metal” intro… meaning metal as in instrumentation, horns etc. SO, that being said, I’ll review the song. Guitarist Chewy (Daniel Mongraine) is really the ONLY guy to be able to fill deceased guitarist Piggy’s shoes. This track proves that not only can Chewy operate withing the boundaries put forth by Piggy, but, that he excels in writing in this style.  The song rips, and really is reminiscent of Voivod past. BUT, and there’s always a but isn’t there, what’s the use of this release?  The new intro is cool and all, but does it really warrant it’s own release? I don’t know. As a fan this is great, but seems like something only a collector really needs. I’m going to rate this highly because the song rules, but also seems unnecessary. Hopefully this is a teaser meaning new material is coming. So, 7 Fucking Pecks.

Skeleton’s Skeleton is a black metal band on 20 Buck Spin. I like this (I gotta admit, I didn’t think it’d be black metal), and typically black metal isn’t my beaking thing at all. So, what about this?  This is definitely catchy for black metal, kinda having a Ruins of Beverast vibe. This is the band Skeleton (not to be confused with any other bands called Skeleton) which is from Austin and used to be a hardcore band? I’m REALLY confused by the sentence I just wrote. This DOES have a slightly punk edge to it, and it is a good release. 20 Buck continually shows that they know what they like and what they like is good. So, here we go, to sum up, this is good catchy black metal. Dig that. 6 Fucking Pecks.

What the peck is UP with the name Khthonik Cerviiks? I mean, really? Aeqiixoiikum is on Iron Bonehead. This is black metal. No doubt. But I’m kinda digging it. There are a lot of changes in the music, making these long ass songs not seem so long. This has a war metal vibe, and like a Voivod vibe, too. This is fast, like the entire time with only one song approaching “mid-paced.” Throw some Behemoth in there and you have this. Cool. 6 Fucking Pecks.

Until next time… Waldo Out