As the much-heralded/dreaded Millennium approaches, one can only help but wonder what 1999 will bring in the world of metal and heavy rock. The new year is simply screaming for a band to step up and throw down some ferocity, some ultra-brutal rhythms, and some intelligent hooks that will keep fans coming back for another listen. Skinlab. With a sound so dominant, and a songwriting flare that will make any modern-day metalhead give a growl and a "horns-up", Disembody... The New Flesh is Skinlab's second full-length release, and the first with the present and more-imposing line-up.

Formed in September 1995 by bassist/vocalist Steev Esquivel, guitarist Mike Roberts and drummer Paul Hopkins, Skinlab gigged locally in their region after finding second guitarist Gary Wendt. It was the sheer conviction with which the band executed their material that attracted the attention of Century Media Records, who quickly inked a deal with the group in early '97 after hearing their second demo, When Pain Comes To Surface (produced by James Murphy). Championed by Machine Head's Robb Flynn as the most impressive new group on the scene, Skinlab entered Hyde Street Studios with producer Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Napalm Death, Earth Crisis) and came out with what Terrorizer magazine quoted as, "...one of the most crushing debuts". Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded took the entire metal world by storm, beaming with a sound that was described by some as a dark, ominous hybrid of Machine Head and Neurosis, but with a style and intensity that transcends any comparisons.

After the debut's release, Skinlab stayed on the road for well over a year, including three tours of Europe with Machined Head/Napalm Death/Coal Chamber, Exodus and Grip, Inc. respectively, and four Stateside treks with the likes of Exodus, Stuck Mojo, (hed)p.e., Skrew and others. In the midst of all the roadwork the band entailed in '97, Skinlab lost the services of both    guitarists, and eventually came into finding Bay Area veteran Scott Sergeant (formerly of Killing Culture, Laaz Rockit) and Snake
(formerly of Skrew) to further the band's momentum. Anxious to keep fans satisfied until their new full-length in February of 1999, Skinlab released Eyesore, a limited 5000 copy EP (which has already sold out at an alarming rate) that saw the surfacing of two new tracks (one which will also appear on the new full-length in another version), a Brujeria cover, a live track and a song from the band's aforementioned second demo. 1999 sees the rearing of Disembody: The New Flesh, an album that will shed Skinlab of all past comparisons and references.

This foursome is a bludgeoning unit who are as intelligent as they are sonically heavy, and have only begun to discover their collective experience and creativity. Disembody...'s assault ride begins with the blast furnace-like "So Far From The Truth", and continues a downward spiral filled with pummeling rhythms, crafty passages and arrangements, and an overall droning aura that leads the listener from one dimension to another. Again produced by board king Andy Sneap, Disembody: The New Flesh will set the pace for the year with a powerhouse sound, and is a testament to this band's ability to create their own identity and to overcome that which would have stopped most others. In a scene that has been slowly brewing with the potential to become what it once was, Skinlab at the same time are becoming their own scene. The Bay Area Beatdown is no longer a threat, it's an ugly promise...

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