Skepticism
Towards My End (7" EP) 1992 No Label
This 7" vinyl disk is a true collector's item. It has been released by the band members themselves. It contains two tracks, on side A the song 'Towards My End', on side B the song 'The Castles Far Away'. Both tracks are based on a typical, slow, doomy guitar riff. The songs sound a lot in the vein of the 'Stormcrowfleet' album, although not so slow. Nevertheless, it is still slow enough to be true doom metal. The well known organ sound is much less pronounced in comparison with later albums, also the voice is more up to the front. The production is not as fine as on later [Editor note: after the 'Stormcrowfleet' album] releases, which is normal for an early release of an underground band. This is really something you should try to get a hold of, if you like this band.	1. Towards My End 2. The Castles Far Away Approx. 12 minutes
Reviewed by: Heiko Isselee
Aeothe Kaear (Demo Tape) 1993 No Label
Recently, Red Stream records re-released this demo through their mail-order website. Anxious fans didn’t hesitate to lay their hands on the tape, as a view into the band’s early days is certainly interesting. The songs on the tape are obviously early versions of the songs appearing on later releases. The production is different from that found on ’Stormcrowfleet’. The sound quality is less, but the individual instruments are easier to pick out, as opposed to the muffled sound on the first album. The song versions themselves are mostly identical in terms of composition, but generally faster. It feels as if the band still had to let the funeral doom vibe sink in a little. Only Chorale is really different from the version found on ’Ethere. Several parts of the song have been switched, the song starting for example with the organ solo that appears in the middle of a song on the second version. There are also some extra riffs in there that were left out for that later version. So, for Skepticism fans, this tape is a very good way to learn something about the band’s history, this tape being easier available than the 7”. The songs are a bit different, as said, but the true Skepticism feeling is already there. For people who don’t know the band yet and read this as a guide to the band’s music, try one of the later albums first, as they are more representative of the sound the band has today. Anyway, this is a great piece of funeral doom and a prelude to the later greatness of the band.	1. The Everdarkgreen 2. Pouring 3. The Rising Of The Flames 4. Chorale Approx. 36 minutes Re-released in 2002 by Red Stream
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik
Stormcrowfleet (CD) 1995 Red Stream
Skepticism's sound can not be exactly described as "doom" or "metal" in the traditional sense of the word. Rather it is a slow, lethargic journey through the realms of the inner, dark emotions everyone of us has inside. Non-brutal, utterly heavy and uncompromising slow: those are the words that probably give the best description of what one can expect from a Skepticism album. Once I read a review describing their sound as the "last stage before hell". I think this sums it up. Everything in this monumental debut album seems to fit with the atmosphere they are trying to create: heavy, orchestral percussion, epic keyboards and church organ, a low guitar and bass sound and a typical, almost unintelligible, rolling death grunt that sounds like a whisper coming from the depth of the earth. This work is an overall lethargic experience and therefore the album should be listened to as one whole rather than concentrating on the individual tracks. It's difficult to find a more classic example of funeral doom than the work of Skepticism.	1. Sign of a Storm 2. Pouring 3. By Silent Wings 4. The Rising of the Flames 5. The Gallant Crow 6. The Everdarkgreen Approx. 57 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou
Ethere (Mcd) 1997 Red Stream
This mini album of Skepticism is a must have! Why? Simply because it contains a great version of 'The March and the Stream', one of the best doom-metal tracks ever written. For those who are not familiar with the funeral doom this band plays, a short description about their music: Only very few bands play as slow as Skepticism. Skepticism's faster part are about as fast as most band's slower parts. Most of the minimalistic guitar sound is supported by a heavy sounding organ. This creates an incredible atmosphere. The drummer must have a huge self-control to keep himself playing this strict but very slow rythm. The vocals vary between grunts and whispers. They seem to come from very deep anyway. This mini album features three songs. 'The March and the Stream' and 'Aether' appear back on the latter full album 'Lead and Aether' too, but in re-recorded versions. In my personal opinion, the versions of both songs are better on the mini album. I have caught the rumour that Skepticism re-recorded the songs because they lost the original recording tapes from the 'Ethere' sessions. I don't know about the reliability of this rumour though. The last song 'Chorale' appears only on this Mcd. The three songs are very much what one should expect from Skepticism: doomy, dark, creating a funeral atmosphere, containing hypnotizing drum/guitar/organ combinations and vocals that put a spell on you, but above all: it is S.L.O.W.!	1. The March and the Stream 2. Aether 3. Chorale Approx. 27 minutes
Reviewed by: Heiko Isselee
Lead & Aether (CD) 1998 Red Stream
This is the second full length album of Skepticism. Since their debut album 'Stormcrowfleet', the band has matured a lot. The sound on this album may be a little less dark than on their debut, but the songs are better written and the atmosphere as a whole is much more comprising. The album contains very slow music, a very deep almost whispering growl and poundering drums. The album also features an organ as one of the main instruments in every song. As soon as the album starts off with the song 'THE ORGANIUM', the listener is engulfed by a majestic, though very doomy atmosphere. The organ used on 'Lead & Aether' adds a lot to the overall feel of the album. It's hard to imagine how "heavy" an organ can be used as an instrument when you have not heard this album. The second song is the classic 'The March and the Stream', for many people the best song Skepticism has ever written. Every single following song on the album creates the same, heavy doomy funeral feeling in a way that can be said that the album as whole is one undividable entity. Only after the last song, 'Aether', stops and silence fills the room, the listener's emotions are released. An empty feeling follows...	1. THE ORGANIUM 2. The March and the Stream 3. The Falls 4. Forge 5. -Edges- 6. Aether Approx. 47 minutes
Reviewed by: Heiko Isselee
Aes (Mcd) 1999 Red Stream
The nice thing about reviewing this album, or better: this Mcd (SCD would be more appropriate), is that I don't have to talk about many songs. The whole Mcd consists of one, 'endless' 28 minute long track. As always, Skepticism's music is dark, heavy, S.L.O.W.™ and hypnotic. The trance starts as soon as you push the 'play' button and it won't leave you until you realize that it's silent again, half an hour later. So don't put this album on when you have work to do! An often heard reaction against this kind of records is 'they should have divided it into more tracks' (see: Edge of Sanity - 'Crimson'). Mostly, this accusation is well-founded, because those long tracks usually contain more than enough different ideas to make them into more songs. For this track, I wouldn't know. The tempo alone is already enough to justify the song being that long. I also feel that the band doesn't leave the same straightout path until the end of the song, so that the end still resembles the beginning of the track a lot. Does that mean it is boring? No, not at all. There are more than enough changes in rhythm and in riffs to make this more than a monotonous drive of slow but heavy guitars. This is no more no less Skepticism at its very best.	1. Aes Approx. 28 minutes
Reviewed by: Heiko Isselee
The Process of Farmakon (Mcd) 2002 Red Stream
After a few years waiting the masters of Funeral Doom, Skepticism, are finally back to serve us an appetiser to their upcoming new full length 'Farmakon'. This appetiser shows us two sides of Skepticism, their well-known and trusted sound and something I can only describe as Skepticism being "experimental". The first track 'Backward Funeral and the Raven' is pretty much what we have come to expect from Skepticism. It is a clear and honest continuation of the 'Aes' Mcd and shows that Skepticism still know how to write great funeral songs. The second song is perhaps the most experimental song that I have heard of Skepticism. Not that they have gone '34,788%' on us, but for their standards I believe this qualifies as very experimental song writing. In essence 'The Process of Farmakon' is not that different from other Skepticism songs, but everybody will immediately notice the "bubbly sample". Throughout the entire song, we hear this very strange sample of what seems to be a test-tube bubbling. Given the name of the track 'The Process of Farmakon', it is my guess that this is supposed to symbolise just that, the process of making a Farmakon (Pharmakon is Greek for poisonous medication - bad medicine), the sample makes perfect sense in that way. However, I find it rather distracting and don't feel that it really adds to the music or the sad atmosphere. It adds a quite unintended comical factor to the song. This while the rest of the song still sounds ultra depressive. The song also has a rather odd ending, that involves somebody just hitting all the keys on the organ at once, which is rather annoying at first, but you do get used to it. Actually you even get used to the bubbles after a while. After the last song and +/- a minute of silence, we are treated to a small endbit/bonus track of just solemn drums and guitars rolling along. Perfect music for…. a funeral. Absolutely stunning and I hope this may be a song they worked out further on the full length. For now most definitely a great tension building outro. Despite my criticism of the bubble sample, I think this is one of the best slaps of Doom I've heard lately. Of course I did not expect any less of Skepticism and they did not let me down one bit (well perhaps the bubbles). I find it amazing that Skepticism manage to keep their songs interesting throughout all the albums they have released so far. And it looks like 'Farmakon' will be no exception.	1. Backward Funeral and the Raven 2. The Process of Farmakon Approx. 18 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel
Farmakon (CD) 2003 Red Stream
What an album. It does wander from 9/10 to 10/10 depending on being in the right mode. At one point I reckoned this to be the best album ever made, but I've reigned back from that now. Still unmistakable Skepticism with that church organ beating out the funeral dirges, this one's their most progressive metal album to date, not in playing technique, but in composition. The feeling is of one journey; moods change cleverly without necessarily keys changing. The simple, unprocessed, wandering lead guitar, taking on the role of a wandering bass, adds to this feel of wandering through experience, whilst other guitars fade in and out of the mix as if portraying the emotions felt on the way. Hearing this many times now, I'm tempted to say this is a concept album. After the cave and forest exploration of 'The Raven and the Backward Funeral', 'Shred of Light' is just that. It's as if you enter a glade, a chink in the oppressive woodland gloom, and it really does elevate the mood by lifting the 2-ton weight off your chest and allows a bit of refreshing bitterness and brooding anger into the equation. 'Farmakon Process' has a mechanistic process feel to it. With its crashes and almost epic feel, you can't help to think that Skepticism are making something here, perhaps an iron man for the next Sabbath reunion, or a set of coffins for their live act. The untitled 4th track (shown as a rip on the back cover) is a stunner, a smoothing drone, building up to the body of the composition, which continues to build and pick up speed (yes, speed... for Skepticism!!!), and builds up tension like a pressure cooker. An American Indian style drumbeat is a constant thread such that even when the music stops dead the beat goes on. Actually, the heavy breathing at the end makes it more like the time-beater on a galley ship keeping the oarsmen synchronised. You feel knackered at the end of it. Even if this isn't the best album ever made, this has to be a contender for one of the best tracks. I could rant on about this track forever, but moving on... 'Nowhere' and 'Nothing' have to be the sisters of nihilism, at least in name. They actually have that faster pace and strange gloomy uplifting quality, which sound a contradiction in terms but, then again, it depends on how much pleasure you get from your misery. And that strange 'sour' sounding, wandering guitar reappears as if to reinforce the connection with earlier tracks. 'Nothing' slows it down for the sort of finale you'd expect from Skepticism. If you were to paint a picture by covering canvass in it's entirety with black paint, and then call it a self portrait, that just about sums up the track and the album. It's not blanket dirge, it's not just about hopeless doom, it has all sorts of elements of negativity in it, making it complex and multi-perceptional. This is an album to be listened to with respect, unrushed and in the right mood. If you down the best wine in the world in one gulp, it'll taste like plonk.	1. The Raven and the Backward Funeral 2. Shred of Light, Pinch of Endless 3. Farmakon Process 4. Untitled 5. Nowhere 6. Nothing Approx. 62 minutes
Guest Reviewed by: Malcolm Fuller