Review: “Hell’s Teeth” by Skabs

Manchester might not be the first place you’d associate with Blackened Crust Punk bands but Skabs caught our attention with November 2023’s EP “World Burner” for all the right reasons. Since then drummer Steven Hall (Only Pain), vocalist Mike Collins (Pist, Poison Dwarf, Wort), guitarist Jack Trelawny (Pist, One Arm Left, Unbearable Skin) alongside bassist and backing vocalist Dave Rowlands (Pist, Hunting With Chainsaws, Slain) have gone from strength to strength and now have a debut album in “Hell’s Teeth” which holds much promise waiting in the wings. An intriguing prospect, rumour has it that it holds at its black beating heart “a breathless whiplash inducing swirl of d-beats, tremolos, classic punk slams and vicious breakdowns“…

The almost feral vocals from Collins on the first throw of the dice that is “Fist Full of Nothing” are as caustic as they come, sitting one notch above nails on a chalkboard in the best possible way, focusing the mind like a drill to the head and setting the tone for the shape of punk to come. Sonically the band have sharpened their blades since EP “World Burner” and now offer up a genre defying sound that crosses the borders and boundaries between Crust Punk, Black and Death Metal as they hit like a police battering ram at the door in the midnight hour. They’ve nailed the atmospherics and dynamics within their sound on this record, the ripper that is “The Dread Machine” which races out of Hell’s gate like tornado of souls. An urgent affair with a blistering solo from Trelawny to keep you on your toes, it’s sharper than a surgeons scalpel and more dangerous than a building site wrecking ball.

Rising like a Phoenix from the ashes title track “Hell’s Teeth” slows things down a notch before surging back to breakneck speed with Hall’s pummelling percussion the driving force. Another vicious little ditty upon which Collins sounds unhinged, this one is potent enough to make peers in the likes of Wolfbastard jealous and in all honesty if you wanted to know what Mayhem could sound like playing Discharge covers, then look no further. Shorter, faster and more furious “The Scum Rises” is Skabs at their most infectious, the earworm main riff as addictive as the next designer drug. The most impressive thing is that the band have managed to capture their notorious live energy in the studio and so each song sounds like a nail bomb exploding at close quarters.

Cutting the album clean in half like a hatchet to the skull “Loaded Like a Gun” has a bit of Scandinavian melancholic lead guitar running through it that is very well worked as it embellishes the track while offering a glimpse at the bands influences. The downtempo shift in the final third adds a spice that’s nice, a couple of siren like moments in the wall of feedback at the end being the Chef’s kiss before the restless and relentless “Time on Their Hands“. Another scalding short, sharp shock of a track that feels like the wolf pack circling in a blood lust, this one also has a purposeful slow down full of poison that finds Trelawny pulling out some tasty groove laden riffs.

Just when you thought they could do no more damage, the sixty eight seconds of raging riffs that is “Standing Dumb” hits with the energy of a Grindcore tune. If they’re going to give fans the opportunity for stage dives and high fives when performing it live, they’re going to have to play it twice because this angry anthem is leaves flames in its wake. The haunting eerie soundbite that is “Pervasion” feels like something from a low budget horror movie on VHS, warping the mind while acting as a palate cleanser for grand finale “Still Drawing Breath“. A cut of poise and purpose, this one is front loaded with a classic Death Metal riff of sinister menace before the Skabs change gear and put the pedal to the metal and its the well worked tempo shifts in this one that make it hit that much harder. Rowlands gets a classy bass solo in the final third as Collins declares war on the world and in all honesty, its an absolute firecracker! [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Fist Full of Nothing
2. The Dread Machine
3. Hell’s Teeth
4. The Scum Rises
5. Loaded Like a Gun
6. Time on Their Hands
7. Standing Dumb
8. Pervasion
9. Still Drawing Breath

“Hell’s Teeth” by Skabs is out 16th October 2026 via Liminal Dread Productions and is available over at bandcamp