Skinless is an American
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band from
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...
.
The band formed in 1992 and disbanded in 2011,
but reformed in 2013.
History
Skinless was formed by Ryan Wade and Noah Carpenter
in the town of
South Glens Falls, New York
South Glens Falls is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 3,518 at the 2010 census. The village is in the northern part of the Town of Moreau, south of the City of Glens Falls.
Cooper's Cave, shown on the v ...
. After relocating to various New York towns and cities such as
Saratoga Springs
Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...
,
Clifton Park, and
Cohoes, the band settled in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
.
Skinless is known for its consistently intense performances, as well as for its lyrical mix of end-of-the-world cynicism and comedy, which at times satirizes well known death metal lyrics from bands such as
Carcass
Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to:
*Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc.
*Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being
*The str ...
and
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...
, and death metal in general. These lyrical themes are demonstrated in songs such as "The Optimist", about a crumbling human society, and "Tug of War Intestines", which depicts children playing schoolyard games with a surgery patient's internal organs. The band has occasionally brought the "Skinless Girl" on stage and let her be roughed up, covered in fake blood, while the band performed. Earlier in the band's career, Skinless handed out long tubes of foam for the audience to beat each other while the band played. These tubes were nicknamed "The Logs of Brutality".
Skinless's 1998 debut album, ''
Progression Towards Evil'', was an independent release which garnered the band high praise by fans and critics.
In June 2010, Skinless played a reunion show with the line-up from the first 2 full-length albums.
Guitarist Noah Carpenter wanted Skinless to continue in this formation but the band's "fire" was not there anymore.
In April 2011, Skinless officially split up,
but soon after announced a farewell performance at
Maryland Deathfest
Maryland Deathfest (often abbreviated to MDF) is an annual American extreme metal festival founded in 2003 by Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting. The festival is held in Baltimore, Maryland during Memorial Day weekend, and it features many bands from ...
2011. All the members are continuing as musicians in other bands.
Skinless reformed in 2013 with the original line up from ''Progression Towards Evil''.
The band then added a second guitarist, Dave Matthews.
Skinless released a new album entitled ''
Only the Ruthless Remain'' on June 2, 2015, their first since ''
Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead'' in 2006.
Members
;Current members
* Noah Carpenter – guitars (1992–2011, 2013–present)
* Joe Keyser – bass (1997–2011, 2013–present)
* Bob Beaulac – drums (1997–2002, 2003–2011, 2013–present)
* Sherwood Webber IV – vocals (1994–2004, 2010–2011, 2013–present)
* Dave Matthews – guitars (2013–present)
;Former members
* Dan Bell – vocals (1992)
* Ted Monsour – bass, vocals (1992–1994)
* Ryan Wade – vocals, drums (1992–1996)
* Jeff Vanloan – bass (1993)
* Mike Levy – vocals (1993–1994)
* Martin Oprencak – vocals (1994)
* Adam Lewis – bass (1995–1997)
* Joe Clark – drums (1996)
* George Torres – drums (2002)
* John Longstreth – drums (2003)
* Jason Keyser – vocals (2005–2009)
* Chris Mahar – drums (2006–2009)
;Timeline
Discography
Albums
* ''Progression Towards Evil'' (1998)
* ''Foreshadowing Our Demise'' (2001)
* ''From Sacrifice to Survival'' (2003)
* ''
Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead'' (2006)
* ''
Only the Ruthless Remain'' (2015)
* ''Savagery'' (2018)
Other releases
* ''Demo'' (demo, 1994)
* ''Swollen Heaps'' (demo, 1995)
* ''Frozen Dawn'' (compilation, 1996)
* ''Common Ground: A Compilation of Upstate NY's Hardest'' (split, 1997)
* ''Maledictive Pigs / Skinless'' (split, 2001)
* ''Miscreant'' (EP, 2002)
* ''Skinflick'' (DVD, 2004)
* ''Regression Towards Evil: 1994–1998'' ("best of" compilation, 2007)
References
{{Authority control
Relapse Records artists
Musical groups established in 1992
Musical groups disestablished in 2011
Death metal musical groups from New York (state)