Allegiance - Skinman (1996)

During the first half of the 1990's one band owned metal in Austalia, and owned Perth outright. The mighty Allegiance were everywhere, the name on everyones' lips. In this city of bands appearing and disappearing, forming and dissolving, the "pecking order" of bands is an ever-shifting thing and not too many times in the past has one band stood forth as the unquestioned kings of Perth Metal. Allegiance was exactly that. Fronted by the Charismatic Conrad, powered by the legendary Dave Harro and promoted by the infamous Squasha, Allegiance were a success that Perth has not seen the likes of since.

After a string of demo tapes and their first full length - and very successful - CD, "Destitution", Allegiance launched what was to be their final CD "Skinman" in 1996. In this time the "powergroove movement" of metal was in its heyday, with Pantera in everyones CD/tape players and most of us wishing we could be Dimebag when we grew up. Maybe it was the tour that they did with Pantera - Local Legend has it that they sat in Pantera's tourbus drinking black eyed grins with them - but Allegiance seems to have been influenced by their musical style, as "Skinman" has a big slice of groove in it. I remember when this CD came out and that people I knew well of the time suggested that it was not as good an album as "Destitution" and was second-string material. To some degree I agree, there is no doubt that "destitution" is an album for the ages while "Skinman" is the forgotten younger brother, but bands must evolve or perish and this was the next step in the band's journey, something that diehard fans can struggle with.

Metal evolves fast, and what is considered heavy to one generation is not to another, but in '96 Allegiance were considered to be pretty bloody heavy, although "Scorn" and passages of "Face Reality" are probably the only sections on this CD that are heavy enough to compare with today's bands. But if you lose your 2010 ears and listen to this CD for what it is rather than comparing it to modern bands, there are songs that can catch your attention. The old crowd favourates "Time to React and "Taken by Force" have a catchy strength that give them some relevance today, and all the songs have moments of cleverness, in particular there are passages in "Pity" and the very different "Hands of Fate". Talent-wise, the guitar and bass work is very competent even by today's standards with a big dose of Slayer and Metallica in the sound. Glenn on the drums was a local legend of the time, and some of his chops are still flashy now. Conrad on vocals was always harder for me to approve of however, being blessed with a big personality and a big metal voice and cursed with an astonishing lack of range. It can be a bit hard to get through an entire Allegiance CD in a sitting, as the constancy of the vocals is irritating.

Dave, Jason, Tony, Glenn and Conrad burned bright and then burned out, very publically destroyed from within by internal strife and conflict. They never really fully dissolved, playing a show a few years back, but the powerhouse that was Allegiance was gone, leaving a power vaccuum that no perth band has been able to fill and hold ever since. Many have risen and fallen but another Allegiance has not appeared. Maybe it is due to the fragmantation of the metal world into countless genres and sub-genres leading to a lack of cohesion in the local scene, too many styles to choose from giving rise to too many bands and nobody with the strong enough fanbase to step up and take the mantle. Whatever the reason, Allegiance were the last true powerhouse of Perth Metal and I pity those of you too young to have been part of one of their shows.

Alright, in my humble opinion this CD has lost most of its relevance to the modern era and until I decided to review it hadn't had a spin for 5 years or more. An album is a snapshot of a time you were there for, and once that time has past it is hard to revisit it with the same zeal as you once did. Not too many bands produce a truly timeless body of work, and although "Destitution" comes close, I don't see "Skinman" in that way. All that aside, in a time when the rest of us were making demo tapes, Allegiance was recording and selling quality CDs and merch by the truckload, touring Oz and trashing hotel rooms with the biggest in the business. Maybe you have to have been there to understand the Allegiance phenomenon, but it doesn't matter. In my attempt to create a comprehensive history of Perth Metal, "Skinman" has to be acknowledged.

To ignore "Skinman" would be to ignore Allegiance, and they are a most important part of our Perth Metal Heritage.


Review by Jez.