White Skull - The Dark Age (2002)

Rock bands change their personel all the time, and heavy metal bands tend to do it with a passion, forever playing musical chairs. Sometimes, these changes involve the vocalist, but it's very rare for the vocalist to be of a different gender, but that's what White Skull has done with their fifth album, replacing Federica De Boni with Gustavo Gabarrò, who's got a voice that's not dissimilar, although still one of his own.
But regardless of who's singing, the content of the record certainly can't match anything found on the classic TALES FROM THE NORTH.
The topic is pretty much focusing on the dark history of the Roman Catholic church, particularly inquisitions, witch burnings and suchlike.  I'm not going to get into a big rant about it now; as a Christian, I don't deny these terrible things happened, although I will deny it is any reflection on true Christianity. It is not.  These were fools who got it all horribly wrong.
So I have little problem with the topic, and White Skull cover it well enough. The music is still good, but not all that good.  Gabarrò's voice aquits itself well enough, and the album holds interest throughout, but it's just nothing overly special.
Hopefully, White Skull, whatever topics they decide to cover (I think I can guarantee it won't be something like the good an organisation like the Salvation Army has done in history), and whoever they have singing, can soon return to their best in regards to the actual music.

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