Soulskinner - Crypts of Ancient Wisdom (2014)

   Soulskinner was formed and debuted in the early '00s, in an era, when death metal didn't only lacked any attention or popularity, but the genre was nearly forgotten. The band's first 2 albums included the typical features of '00s death metal bands from modern sound to strong brutal death and splatter topic orientation. By their third record "Crypts of Ancient Wisdom" the band switched to a slightly different perspective.
   The analogy with their previous works is that "Crypts of Ancient Wisdom" also followed the actual trends of the underground. Since the second album old school death metal had a Renaissance, and the band have returned with way more basic and filthy themes than usual. By tempo their songs also slowed down so much, that some are just a step away from death/doom. This album also became way more diverse, cause on the side of nearly death/doom-like slow downs and old school death hammering, melodic death features also showing up, and as the album goes on, they slowly taking the lead. If the first 2 albums reflected the actual trends of their time, the third one is like a summary of the band's early influences. The slow downs and the melodic death switch are like references to the late '90s, when bands like Paradise Lost, Sentenced, Tiamat, Moonspell or Katatonia lived their golden age. The thrashing death basics are still there, and in higher amount than at the mentioned bands, but their dominant influence left their mark behind. In total, "Crypts of Ancient Wisdom" is like a late '90s album embedded into the early '10s. Could be sorted to old school death, but it's something way more complex than how first it seems (or sounds) like.