Skold - Dead God EP

You may have heard of Tim Sköld in relation to KMFDM or Marilyn Manson, working as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, though he has also worked as a solo artist under the name Skold. At this time, the only official Skold releases are a self-titled album and a remix EP for the song Neverland, both from 1996, as well as a collaborative record with KMFDM called Skold vs. KMFDM from 2009. Skold is still a priority and a second full-length album is being worked on for a potential 2011 release, but some other Skold material has made it's way out in the interim in the shape of six tracks leaked from a 2002 demo. Generally referred to as the Dead God EP, Sköld insists the album's proper name is Disrupting The Orderly Routine Of The Institution and that he may eventually complete the tracks for release, but until then we've got at least six tracks to examine.

If you haven't heard Skold before, you might think this sounds more like Marilyn Manson, which is a little ironic because these recordings leaked around the time that Manson's The Golden Age Of Grotesque was being recorded and co-produced by Sköld. In fact, these tracks were initially assumed to be leaks from that album, though I think the songwriting here is superior and the production, while clearly unfinished, is still rather effective.

As I hinted at, comparisons to Marilyn Manson are expected, and this is not the most uplifting music you could listen to as is generally consistent with the industrial and goth scenes, so if those things are not your cup of tea it would be understandable why you might pass this up, but if you like vitriol and are looking for someone disappointed with humankind I think you will be most likely quite pleased with the Dead God EP. As a bonus, if you like this and are wondering what the eponymous Skold album sounds like, you'll also find a download link for that below. That album, while maintaining similar themes, is quite a bit rougher and more likely to draw comparisons to early Nine Inch Nails, what with it's melodicism and extremely raw production. I like them both and maybe you will too. I don't know if Tim Sköld would say for one to enjoy his music, though I'm sure he'd want to get that point across, most likely with a statement like "I hope you delight in my misery". To be honest, I wouldn't want it any other way.


UPDATE: I received an e-mail requiring the removal of both albums from Skold's legal team. I'm more than happy to do so and will gladly respect their wishes. Unfortunately, I don't know where you'll find a copy of the self-titled album or any of his other solo works at this time, but I'm sure you'll find them if you're resourceful and visit sites like ebay. I just found a copy of the self-titled album at a used record shop today as a matter of fact! So I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed, but these are Skold's records first and I will comply with his request.

Skold - Dead God EP

01 Burn
02 Dead God
03 I Hate
04 Believe
05 What's The Point
06 Don't Pray For Me


Skold - Skold

01 Chaos
02 Remember
03 P.A.M.F.
04 Neverland
05 Void
06 Dust To Dust
07 Anything
08 Hail Mary
09 Devil Inside
10 Shut Up


By the way, just in case anyone is confused as to why sometimes Skold has an umlaut and sometimes it doesn't, when I use the umlaut I'm referring to Tim Sköld the individual, whereas without the umlaut I'm referring to Skold the "band". Sorry if that confused anyone.