Formed in Boston, the striking trio Skunk Oil releases their explosive single "Godlike."
Consisting of the Brazilian musicians Dennis D'Angelo (guitars), Lucas Tadini (keyboards), and former drummer Caio Moskalkoff, Skunk Oil sought a heavy rock sound yet with modern twists and turns.
Exploring this with their single "Godlike," Skunk Oil mentioned that the song surrounds an antihero character who thrives off control, power, and influence. Perfectly representing this theme through the band's alternative heavy-rock sound, they fire through with incredible force and momentum that pushes "Godlike" to new places.
"Godlike" starts a bit different than how we described it above, opening with haunting piano chords that you'd hear during the villain's entrance in a motion picture. Skunk Oil explodes into this gut-wrenching sound, while the lead vocals are perfectly filtered to add this intimidating aspect.
Skunk Oil sings lyrics of a pompous villain who listens to no one but himself, and whose lost in his own world of madness and narcissism. The groaning electric guitars perfectly haunt up the track, while the hi-fi keys and throbbing drum patters blast into the hook and hold nothing back.
A fiery track that brings you into the mind of a villain, "Godlike" reminds us to look out for people who might embody these troublesome traits.
Listen to "Godlike" here.
We think we know what (or who) might have inspired this villain character on your single "Godlike." However, we'd rather hear from your personal experience, what was your inspiration?
To be honest, the inspiration for lyrics didn't come from a specific individual or situation but rather from a combination of traits that are found in people who are in a position of power, advantage, or influence over others. Some people become obsessed with it and would do anything to keep it. In this song and like in many of our songs, we like to write lyrics that have elements of truth and reality but then metaphorically, and indirectly, they depict a bigger picture shown from a point of view a lot of people pretend it doesn't exist.
Within your single "Godlike," Skunk Oil explores different sounds like melancholy piano and hi-fi alt-rock. How did you want the song to sound, and did you want it to be similar to a villain's soundtrack in a film?
When we compose, we always look for a good balance between sounds we hear in bands that influence us and our own voice, which is an interpretation of the moment. We also like to keep a couple of things in mind, such as the theme of the song, the energy it should have, and how it would look if this song was a moment in time. Then we look for music elements, textures, and sounds that could represent it in a way that would be true to us. At the end of the day, we wanna make music that we enjoy playing but that people can connect to it.
We've heard you also have a music video for "Godlike," premiering on July 9th, 2020. What should we anticipate from the music video, and how does it reflect the song?
The video couldn't represent the song better because it captured the true essence of the song. It's mysterious, dark, sexy, and intense. It builds up perfectly with the song in a way that keeps the energy and the engagement up and going.
You mentioned you will be releasing an album later this year titled, "Under_Skinned." How does this project relate or differ from your other releases?
The album "Under_Skinned" both relates and differs from our previous EP. The way we wrote these songs as a band is more cohesive and mature than the first EP but thematically it's a continuation of the first EP.
What are you working on through the pandemic and how are you keeping inspired?
We're still finishing a couple of tracks and the last details for the "Under_Skinned" but most of the members also have other projects in parallel with skunk oil, that are also releasing music during the quarantine and over the next few months. Right now, our goal is to put out the next singles, followed by the "Under_Skinned" album, and grow our presence online and in the media until we can go back to playing shows.