SKELL RULE #1:
THE THREE-SECOND RULE
The conversation with Skell guitarist Mike Palone covers the history of heavy music from Slipknot back to Black Sabbath, and so does the Pittsburgh band’s music. Head shaved bald, braided goatee hanging to his chest, Palone presses “play” on the boom box, and the band’s first complete track, “False Reality,” starts.
It’s a metal-across-the-ages alloy, equal parts Disturbed and Pantera: Palone peels out a wicked lick with a concise solo in its middle, drummer Rich Palone and bassist Mike Ekis pummel together in mechanically precise rhythm, and Chris Dittman switches between rapid slightly rap-inflected vocals during the verses and viking screams in the chorus.
“This is probably the least heavy song we have,” says Palone. A metal true believer and veteran of the Pittsburgh scene, he’s seen the musical world drift away from him and return.
Brief industrial intro excluded, the song adheres to the core guideline for Skell’s live show: the three-second rule. Explains Palone: “We’ve learned that you’ve got the first three seconds — if you don’t nail the first song, the whole night’s gonna suck. And if you nail the first song, chances are very good that it’s going to happen.”
SKELL RULE #2:
THE OSBOURNE LITMUS TEST
A disciple of the Gospel According to Osbourne — Old Testament and New — Palone traces the origins of metal to Sabbath, and he also credits that camp with the modern rebirth of the form, the Ozzfest lineups that, in the mid 90s, were the alternative to alternative. The way Palone sees it, Ozzy took Limp Bizkit, Fear Factory, Machine Head and Sevendust on the road with him, sowing seeds for new metal the way that Sabbath spawned classic metal. And the new crop of metal has the market ready for Skell.
“It seems that things are coming in our direction,” says Palone. “There’s more heavy stuff on the radio. We’re current and we’re aggressive. It’s not as heavy as Slipknot, but it’s a lot closer to Slipknot than it is to Bush. We can play some covers that are on the radio, and girls will come out and dance to it. Skell is about getting on stage, going as hard as we can, getting the people into it. A hard, live, driving rock band.”
SKELL RULE #3:
GIVE ‘EM WHAT YOU BOTH WANT
Skell’s calendar is full, and Palone credits the busy schedule to a two-pronged live show peppering original Skell material with a variety of “aggressive modern covers” that looks like an MTV-X playlist: Staind, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Korn, Godsmack, Deftones, Pantera. Skell’s cover of “Last Resort” is the perfect demonstration old-school/new school fusion: as the song ends, Skell launch into “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, the Iron Maiden riff Papa Roach borrowed for their new-metal hit.
For an unflinchingly heavy band, they please a broad demographic. Steadily working their way toward Eastern PA, Skell have cultivated a following from Pittsburgh to Johnstown to Altoona. Working toward the fall release of their first CD, their selective use of covers has opened the door wider for their original material.
“When I see a lot of local bands come out and play a set of seven of originals, I’ll watch them think ‘You know what? Out of those songs, four were OK, and three I didn’t like,’” says Palone. “But then you do the math, and half of the show was great — and half wasn’t. That’s fifty percent of your show that was teetering on being where it needs to be. And that’s too much. We think it’s best to play the freshest stuff we’ve got, take a break, and come out and play the songs everybody wants to hear. It makes everyone happy.”
SKELL RULE #4:
GET BETTER
Maybe, somewhere inside, Palone has a fragile artist’s ego, but he can take a hit. “If you’re gonna dream, you better dream big,” he says. “I want it all. I would like to have lots of people digging our tunes around the world. And I would like to be able to write tunes good enough that are worthy for that. That’s pretty big thing: Everybody wants respect, but you’ve got to put up the goods.”
And to put up the goods, His production credits include Pittsburgh standouts Whiskey High and Grand Buffet. But with Skell, he’s relinquishing the command to producer Robert Deaner.
“I needed the outside opinion,” says Palone. “Some of it I don’t like, but to grow, I need to go through some tough spots. I need to go through the process at least once, of having someone say ‘I’ve heard that lyric before, that’s dated, that’s a little crusty.’ Things that I really needed to hear, that were sometimes even painful. That’s when I realized how tied to my roots I was — maybe too tied. You can still hold on to your roots but do something fresher.”
Palone’s style is chagning, too. “I was a shredding guitar player for a long time,” says Palone. “I can still do it. I don’t do it very often. It’s more about the song now, as opposed to a ten-minute big solo. On the new thing that we’re working on, I’ve got eight songs, there’s three solos. And none of them are big ones. To the point, make the song better, move on.”
SKELL RULE #5:
YOU WILL PLAY
A true guitarist, Palone doesn’t talk about songs without acting them out for you, politely looking around to make sure he’s not going to offend anyone when he describes the song “Skell” as “fuckin’ fast,” then demonstrating the drum part, hands rapidly bouncing in the air, Palone making accompanying drum noises.
Palone looks back, to 1996, when the radio was full of relaxing, low-tempo alternative divas. Not much to sink your teeth into. Not the kind of music you can plan an air guitar to. He doesn’t miss it. He’s thankful that times are changing. The conversation covers the history of heavy music, and when the prospect of the next big thing, the next Metallica, comes around, Palone can’t tell you who it will be, but he has a good idea what it will be:
“It needs to be something that’s real aggressive, with guys who can play,” says Palone. “Imagine a really super revved-up Van Halen I with a little new Slayer in it, something maybe not quite so poppy, but a band that can write really good songs and be really aggressive. That’s the band I think is going to rise.”
Sounds like Skell.
>>Relevant Info:
web: www.skellrocks.com
booking: Mike @ 412.521.2605
e-mail: info@skellrocks.com
