Year : 2020
Style : Melodic Death Metal
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 102 mb
Bio:
COUNTLESS SKIES burst onto the metal scene with their self-titled EP in late 2014. Blending progressive and darkly intense music influenced by their Scandinavian melodeth heroes, the EP received acclaim worldwide and began a flood of shows up and down their native UK with multiple highlights including an invitation to Bloodstock Open Air 2015.Building upon their rapid momentum, the band soon caught the attention of Kolony Records, a deal was signed and the band began work on their debut full length.New Dawn was released June 2016 and was praised “as an effortless display of bravado and musicianship in ways that I can’t soundly describe,” by USA’s New Noise Magazine and an impressive debut from the UK’s Metal Hammer. “Countless Skies have what it takes to really blossom in to something original and beautiful... a band with great skill and even greater potential,” stated Zero Tolerance Magazine.With applause the world over following the release of New Dawn, the band embarked on a UK tour with Finland’s 'Whispered'. Several shorter tours followed including their first stints abroad, appearing at multiple European festivals such as Dark Troll Festival, Skaldenfest, and MetalDays.
Album:
Metal music comes in countless different forms. On one side of the spectrum you’ll find subgenres like progressive metal and NWOBHM, on another side you might find acts engaging in heavier music, like black and death metal. Some bands can be put in a certain category after hearing just one of their songs, while others require more consideration. The latter goes for Countless Skies, a British band that has seemingly chosen their own path where progressive, doom and death metal meet. If Devin Townsend would be a genre of his own, I would’ve included him as well.Townsend with his various bands and Swallow the Sun are the first metal acts that come to mind upon first hearing “Glow”. Both the clean vocals and song structures seem to be inspired by Townsend. Bassist Phil Romeo, who handles the clean vocals, comes dangerously close to imitating him at times, especially in the otherwise beautiful opener ‘Tempest’ and towards the end of the album’s closer ‘Reflection’. It doesn’t bother me as much, however, as the rhythm section in ‘Summit’. While their playing feels rather one of a kind and is without question of a very high level, I can’t help but notice they rip off parts of one of Townsend’s more popular songs, ‘Truth’.Now that most of my complaints about “Glow” are out of the way I can focus on the many positive sides of the album, for instance the production. Swallow the Sun’s Juho Räihä did a stellar job and made the album sound extremely clear. Each instrument plays a significant role in the mix without overshadowing other instruments. What I particularly like is the fact that the drums don’t dominate the mix, which has been the case a bit too often in metal music in the past years for my taste. Thanks to Räihä’s excellent work, interesting hooks and beautiful compositions in for example ‘Zephyr’ stand out immediately.With only seven songs and a total runtime of 44 minutes, “Glow” is an easy listen. The band knows when to dial back and cue the acoustic guitar, but never for too long. Listen to the so-called “Glow-trilogy” and get sucked into a mid-tempo song that evolves into a calm, acoustic intro (yes, really) that builds up to the grandiose final part of the trilogy. Once again, it’s time for blast beats, soaring riffs and plenty symphonic elements. The band’s choice to close off the album with a 20-minute epic that’s essentially been split into three parts, turned out great. They really saved the best for last, although the album could’ve ended a bit less abruptly. Especially with such a strong introduction in ‘Tempest’, the final seconds of ‘Reflection’ feel too short.I haven’t found a single dull moment on “Glow”. This is one of those rare albums where not one song feels like it could’ve been shortened. Every second on the album is essential. The weird thing is, had I known that Countless Skies is a British band, I might’ve skipped them. When it comes to melodic death metal, I tend to listen to Finnish and Swedish bands, but somehow Countless Skies managed to grab my attention. It’s no wonder they sound ‘Scandinavian’, considering the band draws their influence from Scandinavian greats such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and Opeth. I’m just glad I didn’t turn my back on Countless Skies, because as it turns out, they released one hell of an album. “Glow” isn’t without its flaws, but perfection rarely exists. And let’s be honest: wouldn’t you buy the CD based on the artwork alone?
Line Up:
Ross King - Vocals, Guitars
James Pratt - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Phil Romeo - Bass, Vocals (backing) - See also: ex-Equalusion
Nathan Robshaw - Drums - See also: The Graven Sign
Tracklist:
01. Tempest 05:06
02. Summit 06:01
03. Moon 05:27
04. Zephyr 07:28
05. Glow: Part 1: Resolution 08:05
06. Glow: Part 2: Awakening 05:13
07. Glow: Part 3: Reflection 06:58
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
