Norwegian Ska-Punksters Skanimals release debut album

Hailing from Norway and formed after one of the bands members was inspired to play Ska-Punk after watching ‘The Interrupters’ in Belgium, Skanimals are relatively new to the scene, having only appeared on social media around a year ago with their debut single ‘B.O.T.’. Over the course of last year, the Nordic ska punk band released four singles in total, all of which appear on this, their debut album.

Entitled ‘Release The Skanimals’ the album kicks of with a short intro track that would make Odin himself proud! ‘To Valhalla’ will have you sacrificing a farm animal to the gods!

The Viking theme continues with ‘Gods On My Shoulders’, a punk leaning track that comes at you like a invading army! A full on assault of the ears…but in a good way!

The Ska influence then really starts to kick in with ‘Figure It Out’, followed by the bands latest single release ‘Alpha’ which we reviewed back in June ’24 here.

‘The Crew’ kicks off with some heavy guitar riffs, and striking brass, before launching into a Ska-fuelled anthemic track before what is my favourite track on the album ‘B.O.T.’ which, as I mentioned right at the start, was the bands debut single.

‘Rum Voyage’ is up next, an upbeat offering that is followed by the bands fourth single from August last year, ‘KEISERSNITT’, a punk-powered powerhouse and ‘One of Those Days’, punk with a ska tinge.

‘MaDnNeSs’, the penultimate track, is rather theatrical punk/metal track, which I could imagine having a place in a West End production.

The album is nicely rounded off by ‘Stuck’, the Ska is back and another of my favourites on the album. It’s a hugely danceable track and a great way to end the album.

Skanimals are in no way a ska purists dream. They push the boundaries of what could be classed as ska-punk and some tracks are pure punk, but there is enough ska in there to be credible and that’s exactly what the band are looking to do, so mission accomplished!

And what’s more, it’s a great debut album, and well worth a listen!

There are apparently no immediate plans to release this offering in hard copy format, so you’ll have to stream it from your favourite streaming service.

Check out Skanimals on Instagram