Last Shot At Heaven

Although they had never toured the United States, 1993’s Last Shot At Heaven was the first full-length stateside release of England’s experimental noise-rock darlings Skullflower. “Caligula” opens with a soft explosion before unfolding layers of dark and dirty guitar distortion as Matthew Bower pounds out mammoth-sized dirge-riffs with faraway sounding vocals buried under so much noise that it’s hard to believe Skullflower was a trio at the time of this recording. Under minimalist beats that border on a tribal style, haunting howls of feedback usher in “Get the Horn” before high tin-toned grinding approximates the sound of power tools buzzing under wah-wah guitar-pedal manipulations. Bower’s love for bygone proto-metal surfaces slightly in the repetitive power chords that make up the bedrock of “Bad Alchemy,” which starts off with guitar wizardry playing over warbling riffs, recalling early My Bloody Valentine recordings.