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When vocalist and founding member Martin Walkyier left the British folk metallers Skyclad in 2001 it was a very important moment in the band's career. Many feared that everything was over now that the witty lyrics and passionate vocals were gone but even though things were doubtless going to change the band never surrendered. In a way I kind of also feel sad for Skyclad. They have been signed to major metal labels such as Noise, Massacre and Nuclear Blast but now they release their albums through the smaller British label Demolition Records. The money is no longer around, the band's website has lost all traces of design and the new album cover will not attract much attention in the record stores. At this point most musicians would be bound to give up but the brave warriors of Skyclad carry on fighting. Kevin Ridley, who took over the microphone duties when Martin left, is doing a wonderful job on this album and in a way I'm glad that they have parted ways with their old vocalist. He was truely a front person that most bands would be jealous of but with this change the band has been offered a golden chance to develop and move on. Old Skyclad fans do not need to worry because the music is still the solid mix of folk music and thrashy heavy metal that is the characteristic Skyclad sound we all have come to love. Few other bands have managed to combine the two very different worlds with such success and "A Semblance Of Normality" definitely possesses the Skyclad trademark. It must be admitted that Kevin Ridley lacks that little extra power and authority in his voice that Martin Walkyier had but a song like "The Parliament Of Fools" shows that he is just as capable of creating efficient vocal melodies. It will be very interesting to see what Martin Walkyier is up to in the future but Skyclad is still around and now in 2004 they release yet another strong album. The new Skyclad is here to stay but the semblance of normality is luckily very minute. Even today they stand out as a unique band even though they borrowed parts of Ugly Kid Joe's monster hit "Cats In The Cradle" for the song "Lightening The Load". Stand-out tracks: "Anotherdrinkingsong", "The Parliament Of Fools", "Ten Little Kingdoms".
| Tracklist |
| 1. Intro (Pipes Solo) |
| 2. Do They Mean Us? |
| 3. A Good Day To Bury Bad News |
| 4. Anotherdrinkingsong |
| 5. A Survival Campaign |
| 6. The Song Of No-Involvement |
| 7. The Parliament Of Fools |
| 8. Ten Little Kingdoms |
| 9. Like... A Ballad For The Disenchanted |
| 10. Lightening The Load |
| 11. NTRWB |
| 12. Hybrid Blues |
| 13. Outro (The Dissolution Of Parliament) |
: 47.20
| Buy other Skyclad albums |
