The Answer Machine?

The Answer Machine? is the eighth full-length album by British folk metal band Skyclad.
The album marks the peak of the folky sound from the group, with a bigger focus on traditional instruments and barely use of electric guitars.
This was also the group's last album as a quartet, with Steve Ramsey overdubbing all guitars, Paul A.T. Kinson as session drummer and with Mitch Oldham as session percussionist. Moreover, many guest musicians had been involved in this record, with Sasha Jankowic as narrator, Pete Coleman as flute-player, Yasmin Krull as female singer on The Thread of Evermore and with multi-instrumentalist John Leonard on pipes, whistles, accordion, banjo and additional vocals.

Critical reception

Metal Invader called the album satisfying and recommended the tracks "Helium", "Troublesometimes", and "My Naked I". They said the band has found a style that suits Martin Walkyier's vocal capabilities. Rock Hard said that it's the band's most consistent folk/metal fusion yet. They concluded that extreme metal fans won't find much to like about the album, but everyone else should enjoy it. In a retrospective review, MetalReviews wrote: "Skyclad produced something special here that all too often is lost in the crowd when looking back over their discography."