METALLIAN - Place Of Skulls

Nailed – 2001 – Southern Lord
With Vision – 2003 – Southern Lord
The Black Is Never Far – 2006 – Exile On Mainstream
As A Dog Returns – 2010 – Giddy up!
In-Graved – 2016 – Stone Groove

Members

Vocals

Death-Row, Solo, In-Graved>>VICTOR GRIFFIN>>Death-Row, Solo, In-Graved, Death Row Assembly, Pistonhead - Warhorse, Saint Vitus, Lost Breed, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Shine, The Hidden Hand>>Scott "Wino" Weinrich>>The Hidden Hand, Premonition 13, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Solo, Shrinebuilder, Saint Vitus, Bedemon – Doomstone, Darkoffigus, OverSoul, Cor, Oversoul, Revelation, Dwell Within>>Dennis Cornelius>>Revelation, Memory Driven, Dwell Within, Under The Sun

Guitar

Pentagram, Death-Row, Cathedral, Solo, In-Graved>>VICTOR GRIFFIN>>Pentagram, Death-Row, Solo, In-Graved, Death Row Assembly, Pistonhead – Warhorse, Bullring Brummies, Mentors, Shine, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand>>Scott "Wino" Weinrich>>The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Probot, The Hidden Hand, Solo, Premonition 13, Bedemon, Solo, Shrinebuilder, Ritual Arcana

Bass

Death-Row>>Lee Abney>>Death Row, Pistonhead, Rent Veil – Pentagram, Countershaft>>Greg Turley>>Pentagram – Darkoffigus, Cor, Oversoul, Morticious, Doomstone, Revelation>>Dennis Cornelius>>Memory Driven, Revelation – Death Row, Pistonehead, Rent Veil>>LEE ABNEY>>Pistonhead, Rent Veil

Drum

Tim Tomaselli>>Pentagram, Kill Floor Rising – The Mighty Nimbus, Sixty Watt Shaman>>"Minnesota" Pete Campbell>>The Mighty Nimbus, Vulgaari, Pentagram, Gygax, In-Graved, Buzzard, Brathair – Pentagram>>Tim Tomaselli>>Kill Floor Rising – The Mighty Nimbus, Sixty Watt Shaman, Vulgaari, Pentagram, Gygax, Axe Dragger>>"MINNESOTA" PETE CAMPBELL>>The Mighty Nimbus, Vulgaari, Pentagram, Gygax, In-Graved, Buzzard, Brathair, Axe Dragger

Keyboard

Trouble, United By Chaos, Wet Animal, Deadless, The Skull, Retro Grave, In-Graved>>Jeff "Oly" Olson>>Retro Grave, In-Graved

History & Biography

Singer and guitarist Victor Griffin, of Pentagram and Death Row, founded Place Of Skulls in 2000, with bassist Lee Abney and drummer Tim Tomaselli being recruited immediately. Griffin and Abney were in Death Row and this band wanted to emulate Death Row’s doom sound. The band recorded a Live! demo (later issued by Man’s Ruin), followed by the Place Of Skulls and Demo II demos. Guy Pinhas (The Obsessed, Acid King and later in In-Graved) heard the band and helped release the first album on Frank Kozik’s Man’s Ruin Records The trio recorded the debut. Abney left in 2002 and returned in 2007. Scott "Wino" Weinrich joined for the second album and recorded, but left immediately with rumour has it that he disliked the white metal nature of the act. Officially, he lived in Maryland and far from the rest of the boys in Tennessee and Illinois. The cover depicted a trio. With Vision also featured Griffin’s nephew, Pentagram’s Greg Turley. A bunch of white metal tracks constituted the 2005 EP Love Through Blood. The band went on hiatus, but returned within the year. The band toured Europe in 2006. Place Of Skulls finished recording its fourth album, As A Dog Returns, at Lakeside Studio in the spring of 2010. A release date was not set. Giddy Up! Records released As A Dog Returns, in North American on November 9th, 2010. The band was touring Europe in October and November. Victor re-joined Pentagram for two years, he would leave and create In-Graved in 2012 and return to Pentagram. Not coincidentally, the band’s 2016 album was called in-Graved. Well, it was in fact the in-Graved album re-issued here! This was the introduction of ex-Trouble member Jeff "Oly" Olson on keyboards. The band's Demo from 2000 was included on the Roxx Gems - Volume IV split with Sweet Cicada in 2025.

Place of Skulls, a biblical reference, is another name for Golgotha where the crucifixion of Jesus took place.

Reviews

PLACE OF SKULLS - THE BLACK IS NEVER FAR - EXILE ON MAINSTREAM
Place Of Skulls is the band of singer and guitarist Victor Griffin formerly of Pentagram. The musician has both history and pedigree within the doom metal scene, but The Black Is Never Far is more rock than metal and lifeless at that. While there are momentary flourishes of heavy rock and inspired lead guitar bursts occasionally the bulk of the album comes across as listless and uninspired. The music goes nowhere fast (slow?) and, in fact, features some real stinkers that mimic college rock, albeit with a solo here and there. While songs, as a whole, seem thrown together without any real effort, the guitars do rear their head once in a while to say hello and show some flair. Stylistically, there is an echo of doom metal present, but so is rock music and even passages hinting at country. Darkest Hour goes as far as use the main riff off Heaven & Hell photocopied, laminated and delivered. We The Unrighteous is odd lyrically, Changed Heart is another slow song that is only rescued out of its emotionless mire by the solo and Apart From Me sounds downright incoherent. Songs like Lookin’ For A Reason, which arousing and extended like an old '70s tune are harder to come by on the other hand. - Anna Tergel

Interviews

Place Of Skulls