Skelteria is a Metal band from Dallas, TX. Although it is obscure, it became somewhat viral in Europe thanks to a couple of webzines and it's video for "Dying Naked" being featured on failblog.org. The band split up on December 2, 2018 after 10 years of activity. However, they reunited in March 2019.
Discography:
- 12/15/09 (demo) - 2009
- The Nightmare Begins - 2011
- Just For the Hell of It (EP) - 2012
- Skelteria - 2012
- Finally Live - 2013
- Damned and Loving It - 2016
Members
Current lineup- Evan Cotner: vocals, guitars (2008-2018, 2019-present)
- Vincent Neil: bass, vocals (2015-present, on-and-off again)
- Heather McKinney: drums (2023-present)
Former members
- Chris Wise: lead guitar (2008-2009)
- Nathan Clough: bass (2010-2011)
- Mike Nestick bass (2011-2012)
- Nick Klepin: guitars (2015), bass (2014-2015)
- Kim Shank: bass (2015)
- UNIT#24601: drums (2009-2023; see Robot Buddy below)
Skelteria shows these tropes:
- Album Title Drop: The Nightmare Begins.
- Animated Music Video: "The Nightmare Begins" and "Free Candy For All!!!" (Although the latter is more of a slideshow.)
- Author Appeal: Demonic imagery. And Jane's bare feet.
- Careful with That Axe: Cotner's Seth-Putnam-esque screeches in "Incubus/Dark Harvest" and "Funeral For a Dream" are straightforward metal screams. In fact, this trope is featured more prominently in Skelteria than in any other works.
- Cast Full of Gay: Skelteria became this in 2023 with Lori Hildebrandt coming out as Vincent Neil, trans woman Heather McKinney joining the band, and Evan Cotner coming out as bisexual.
- Cluster F-Bomb: "Candy Corn Pumpkins" and the new song "Death to the Fantasy".
- Cover Album: The EP Just For the Hell of It borderlines on this.
- Dolled-Up Installment: "Inhaled Southern Darkforest" was originally recorded for a separate side project of the same name.
- Doomy Dooms of Doom: "Filler of DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"
- Skelteria would also incorporate Doom Metal elements into their later material.
- Dramatic Thunder: Used in the re-recorded version of "The Wettening".
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The 12/15/09 demo as listed:
- The drumming is 90% double-bass drumming with no tom-toms or crash-cymbals.
- Cotner's vocals sound like hardcore tough-guy-growling rather than the thrashy yelling-style that fans are familiar with.
- Cotner did not perform the guitar solos and instead downloaded generic solos and Dime-squeals by anonymous players.
- There are no bass lines.
- "Free Candy For All!!!" is the only recorded Skelteria song to feature a guest performance: a NOOOOOOO!!!! growl courtesy of Chase Paranormal from The Sever Display.
- Fake Shemp: In 2009, Chris Wise left the band before recording of the demo began, so Cotner downloaded generic guitar solos and "Dime-squeals" from the Internet and credited the performers as "Anonymous".
- A Hell of a Time: "Roasting Marshmallows on the Fires of Hell" and "Damned and Loving It" basically encompass the idea of actually enjoying eternal damnation.
- I Am the Band: Skelteria was Evan Cotner, A Robot, and whoever he could find to play bass until he officially decided to make it a one-man band in 2012. The one-man-band era ended when Nick Klepin joined the band in November 2014.
- It would revert back to one-man whenever Vincent departed or was indisposed.
- Instrumentals: "Death" from the 12/15/09 demo, "Open the Coffin" from The Nightmare Begins, the early guitar demo "Ear Killer", and "Stygian Lament" from Damned and Loving It.
- Mascot/MetalBandMascot: Jane, the Dark Mistress of Metal.
- Mind Screw: Skelteria's lyrics are typically written in a non-sequitir style. Ditto for the music videos.
- Miniscule Rocking: Many of Skelteria's songs are less than 3 minutes long. However, later releases see them indulging more in Epic Rocking.
- Precision F-Strike: Many songs contain at least a few profanities.
- Re-release the Song: Two songs from the 2009 demo, "The Wettening" and "St. Trinity", were re-recorded for the albums Just For the Hell of It and Skelteria respectively.
- Revolving Door Band: In relation to the above mentioned one-man-band status, Cotner has stated that the lineup had never been stable. It had numerous members that aren't even listed on any databases.
- Robot Buddy: UNIT#24601 is actually a stage prop made of cardboard, credited as an actual band member before his retirement in 2013. From 2015 to 2023, he was re-included in the lineup. (Cotner actually did the drum programming himself)
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!: from the song "Free Candy For All!!!"
- Jimi Hendrix played to summon Satan and passed the torch down to us!
- Sampling: "Taco Supreme" samples the beginning of the Beavis and Butt-Head episode "No Laughing." Later versions add another Beavis and Butt-Head clip to the song.
- "Funeral For a Dream" samples Beetlejuice and (once again) Beavis and Butt-Head.
- "Skull" samples Homer Simpson killing historical figures in the Halloween episode "Dial 'Z' for Zombies."
- When Skelteria performed live, clips from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Rockumentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey were used as intros to songs.
- Satan
- Shout-Out: UNIT#24601 for Les Misérables. Also, Cotner has cited Detsörgsekälf as the inspiration for Skelteria's tongue-in-cheek style..
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Midnight" and "Stygian Lament".
- Thrash Metal
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: From 2011 to 2015, Evan Cotner spelled his last name as "Kotner".
