Viking Skull-Doom Gloom Heartache And Whiskey-(Promo)-2008-FNT

1. Start A War 03:14

2. Doom Gloom Heartache & Whiskey 04:48

3. In Hell 04:24

4. Hair Of The Dog 02:52

5. Shot Down 04:08

6. Double Or Quits 03:17

7. In For The Kill 03:00

8. 19 Swords 04:50

9. Drink 06:41





Genre : Traditional Heavy Metal



Viking Skull was formed in 2003 by vocalist Roddy Stone, guitarists Frank Regan and Darren Smith, bassist Waldie and drummer Gordon Morrison. They drew deeply from Black Sabbath for inspiration then added a little AC/DC, WASP, Motorhead, The Who, Kiss and Thin Lizzy for good measure. This, mixed with whiskey drenched vocals; they forged an uncompromising brand of classic metal of their own. They started life gigging/rehearsing at local jam nights in Corby, Kettering and Rothwell, simply because it was free and each song played earned you a free pint. Soon these jam nights started to get packed out and people began asking for CDs, so they recorded and mixed their six track demo, Chapter One, for £500 in just two days and released it in 2004 under the Grand Union Label.

Chapter One received rave reviews here in the UK, one of them being the only band still to this date to have scored an impressive 11/10 in a Metal Hammer album review. This quickly earned them support slots on tours with Dio, Him, Sum 41, Wednesday 13, Alice Cooper, Brides of Destruction and a slot at Download 2004. However due to a heavy touring schedule and with no label support, cracks started to appear in the unit. The departure of Frank midway through a Wednesday 13 tour meant Roddy had to quickly switch to both guitar and vocals.

The vibe and energy in Skull remained untouched and people wanted more, so in November 2005, they released the full-length album Born in Hell, but this time the good reviews stretched all over the globe. After more heavy touring with cKy, Clutch, Hayseed Dixie, Europe another slot at Download 2006 and many own headline tours, it all came to a head one night in Köln on the European cKy tour in Aug 2006. The mixture of Jess Margera supplying them with absinthe and a lack of sleep (3 weeks sleeping in a transit van with no cash), the band nearly killed each other…. Viking Skull was no more.

Gordon continued with his other band Raging Speedhorn, Darren gave up bands for good to get a proper job and learn to play the banjo, Waldie just listened to Whitesnake and Roddy never left his flat, living on a diet of beans on toast and continued to write songs.

A few months passed and once Jess Margera heard the news of the split, he called up Roddy to find out what happened and was gutted. Jess then offered his services on drums to keep the band going. Roddy managed to get Waldie back on board, got an old friend Jules Cooper to lend a hand in playing some lead guitar and they travelled to Philadelphia to recorded their 3rd album Chapter Two. This album also had guest appearances from Reverend Jim of Fireball Ministry, the Brandywine Eel of Gnarkill, Unkle Matt and the Shitbirdz and Chad I Ginsburg of cKy. It was released in 2007 on Filthy Note Digital with a limited CD release in the USA. They also shot the video for Blackened Sunrise, directed by long time supporter of the band, Bam Margera

Viking Skull are at their very best right now, the song writing has matured and the legendary live shows just keep on getting better and better. The new album Doom Gloom, Heartache and Whiskey will be released on the 10th Nov 08 (uk) 25th Nov 08 (usa)