A band I recommend everyone checks out is Xskull8. The band is from “a little chicken-shaped country” called Slovenia, which is south of Austria and northeast of Italy. Band members include Rok Zurga (vocals, guitars); Janez Janezic (guitar, backing vocals); Nejc Godec – (bass); and Klemen Krajnc (drums).
The story of Xskull8 started in the summer of 2015 when Rok had an idea of a simple basic rock and roll song. He presented it to the guitarist of his previous metal band and their roadie, who was also a drummer. The next day, they got to his garage and recorded that song with very basic equipment and in poor conditions . . . but it worked. People seemed to like it, and it even got some airplay on a local radio station.
The band didn’t even officially have a name back then. Just a few guys, recording a song. So, they found a bass player, and a band called Captain Morgan’s Revenge was born. They got some great gigs and had some real fun, but in time, changes had to be made, including with the lineup. The funny thing is, both Klemen and Johnny only had two weeks and two rehearsals to prepare before the next show. But they got through it and the whole band got better because of it.
In 2018, the band released an album, and in 2020 they got signed by their first label. The first on their to-do list was a name change. Thus, on February 29th, 2020, they said goodbye to Captain Morgan’s Revenge, and on March 1st introduced Xskull8. The band got back to songwriting, back to the studio, and got signed by Curtain Call Records. They are always in the process of writing and recording, and always searching for opportunities to get their music out to the listeners.
The whole band contributes to the songwriting process. Most of the instrumental parts come from Johnny. Each of the members will do his parts and gives his ideas to it, but the original ideas are mostly Johnny’s. He’s the guitar and songwriting guru in the band. When it comes to lyrics, Rok writes most of them. Sometimes he gets some parts from Johnny, but he always tries to arrange and change it to make it his while still trying to tell his story. The band also works very closely with their producer, Matej Pecaver, who is with them on every song from the first demo to the mastering.
Xskull8’s latest single, “Shadows In My Mind”, tells a story of a day that is just awful and doesn’t get any better. However, eventually you wake up and realize that it’s all in your head. We all have inner demons – we just have to accept that and try to rise above them.
Musically, the song is very intricate. The guitar riffs combine with the bass and drums to create a heavy-hitting tune. There is a stellar guitar solo in the middle of the song. The verses incorporate a combination of rap and hard vocals, while Rok’s raw vocals in the chorus bring out the emotion of the song.
The video for the song was made by the band and their crew. Rok recorded most parts, Andraž (their light technician) recorded Klemen playing the drums, and Klemen edited the whole thing. They didn’t want to over-produce the video, but instead, give a little one-to-one feel to it and make it more intimate.
Xskull8 has some new songs they are working on and are hitting the studio this month to work on them, as well as a couple more in the works. They always want to have new music to present to their fans. They would love to hit the United States on a tour soon!
You can find more inforamtion about Xskull8 on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the band’s website.
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