Skyclad - Prince of the Poverty Line

One of Skyclad's strongest efforts, 1994's Prince Of The Poverty Line saw Britain's leading (OK, only) pagan-thrash-folkers flying at maximum broom-warp thanks to the now symbiotic songwriting partnership between enigmatic vocalist Martin Walkyier and guitarist Steve Ramsey. No longer the stuff of questionable arrangements and clunky transitions (often the case on early efforts), album highlights such as the requisite energetic opener, "Civil War Dance," the violin-infused, metallic quasi-jig "Sins of Emission," and the stunning, even more fiddle-dependent power ballad "The One Piece Puzzle" all attain the highest creative caliber with unprecedentedly fluid proportions -- yet do so without breaking away from previously established Skyclad modes. Read More