Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The intro perhaps says it all, “Welcome back my friend, yes, it’s been too long…”, arguably a truer set of combined words never more uttered in the realms of the distinguished career of Skyclad.

Of course the band have been missed, the eight years in between album enough to tear the hair out of any long term fan, those who migrated from the days of Sabbat and the incredible fusion of Heavy Metal with superb allusions to the Folk genre, those who have not been able to see the band on tour for what perhaps seem forever; missed? There have surely been fans who have pined themselves into a state of unearthly unease as Time has flown by and now feel the relief of the checked mark of the clock as the band return to go Forward Into The Past.