The first Argentinian band I’ve featured, I think. Skiltron really caught my ear. If there’s one instrument I bloody hate, it’s the bagpipes. Yes, I live in Glasgow. Yes, I work in a school where kids are taught to play them. They set my teeth on edge.
Skiltron have achieved the impossible. They’ve put a set of bagpipes into a musical setting which I actually like. Whether it’s the novelty value or not I don’t know. What I do know is that their particular brand of folk metal owes as much to the inflated bladder (or whatever it is) as Alestorm‘s does to the keytar. It’s that distinctive.
[NOTE: on editing this and having listened to some of their other material since drafting the original article, I discovered that the bagpiper has left the band. However, they still do make full use of other folky instruments such as the mandolin and bouzuki. The loss of the bagpipes is a gain for the other instruments!
I also discovered that they played just down the road from me with Martin Walkyier on vocals in August last year. DAMMIT!]
They even look the part. At the risk of getting beaten up by their fans and my work colleagues alike, I’d go as far as to suggest “Sabaton in skirts”, but mainly as it’s a nice piece of alliteration.
This year sees their fourth album release (Into the Battleground – no release date that I can find) and their second European tour, including a date in Glasgow that I’m eyeing up and checking my bank balance for. Full dates are below.
Their official web page is basically just a big advert for the forthcoming album, though it does show off the rather cool artwork. The best source for information seems to be their facebook page. They do have a few sample tunes up on MySpace, though.
Those tour dates and the video for the song “Skiltron” below. Enjoy and maybe I’ll see you at Ivory Blacks!
INTO THE EUROPEAN BATTLEGROUND TOUR 2013
18.07 Kiel – Germany @ Dezibel
19.07 Berlin – Germany @ Parkbühne
20.07 Lübbenau – Germany @ Kulturhof
21.07 Katwijk – Netherlands @ Scum
24.07 Tilburg, Netherlands @ Little Devil
25.07 Hillegom, Netherlands @ JC Solution
26.07 Brande-Höernerkirchen, Germany @ HOA
27.07 Flensburg – Germany @ Roxy
28.07 Itzehoe – Germany @ Lauschbar
29.07 Hamburg, Germany @ Ballroom
01.08 Edinburgh – Scotland @ Bannermans
02.08 Glasgow – Scotland @ Ivory Blacks
09.08 Catton Park, England @ BOA
More dates will be announced soon!
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