Viking Skull - 'Doom Gloom Heartache & Whiskey'

For their third CD Doom Gloom Heartache & Whiskey Viking Skull has a couple new members. That's not a surprise since the band's lineup has been very fluid. New for this album are guitarists Dom Wallace (Deadeye) and Rich Vose (Gnarkill). Vocalist Roddy Stone, bassist Waldie and drummer Jess Margera (CKY) also return.

Doom Gloom Heartache & Whiskey is the perfect title for a Viking Skull CD, although the order probably should be changed so whiskey is first. It's a party CD, with sleazy, catchy riffs in the vein of Motorhead. There's also a doom/sludge influence.

Viking Skull has a lot of rough edges and the songs are simple, but extremely melodic and memorable. Tracks like "Hair Of The Dog" (not the Nazareth song) and "Start A War" are thick and thunderous, with Stone's raspy voice singing about drinking and fighting.

Speaking of drinking, the CD's final track is called "Drink," a sparse piano and acoustic guitar song that sounds like it was recorded at the end of a very long night and extols the virtues of drinking. The chorus is "gotta drink until we (crap) our pants." Doom Gloom Heartache & Whiskey may not change the world, but listening to it makes the world a lot more fun.

(released November 25, 2008 on Powerage Records)