SKYEYE – New Horizons (2024) *HQ*
Some bands play heavy metal. Some bands ARE heavy metal. SKYEYE is the best example of category two one could wish for. With their third record “New Horizons” just around the corner, the sworn brotherhood is officially and successfully applying for the role of heavy metal’s latest and most courageous defenders of the faith, a force of steel that was simmering ever since it started out back in 2014.
“New Horizons” sets a huge exclamation mark behind an iron will of spreading the gospel of true heavy metal: SkyEye combine the grandeur of Iron Maiden with the punch of Judas Priest and the youthful vigour present on the first Hammerfall.
But SkyEye sounds timeless rather than a nostalgia-fueled retro band. Their excellent songs and the fantastic vocals by Jan truly set them apart from the Euro-metal pack.
Stylistically, SkyEye nimbly walks the tightrope between traditional heavy metal and turn-of-the-century German power metal, with a very distinct hard rock vibe when it comes to the vocals. While SkyEye’s riffs are far too muscular to mistake them for an AOR band, they do seem to realize they have an ace up their sleeves with Jan’s clean-yet-raw voice, and give him the room he needs to excel.
The lyrics of ‘The Voice from the Silver Mountain’ betray the influence of Ronnie James Dio, though he has a little more sandpaper on his vocal cords, bringing to mind David Readman or Jørn Lande at his roughest.
First impressions count for a band that might not yet have the international following some European bands do, and SkyEye made sure they made an impact, no matter what you hear first.
Opening track ‘The Descenders’ is a strong heavy metal track constantly pushed forward by Jurij’s driving drums. It also has a fantastic chorus. First single ‘Railroad of Dreams’ is the most accessible hard rocker here, though what really makes it shine is how the memorable melodies and the ballsy riffs balance each other out.
‘Nightfall’ is a catchy metallic track built on insistent double bass triplets and triumphant guitar harmonies.
SkyEye doesn’t just do meat-and-potatoes heavy metal, however. They occasionally get a bit more theatrical, resulting in the midtempo darkness of the powerful ‘Saraswati’ and the almost cinematic nature of the lengthy closing track ‘1917’.
‘Forgotten Nation’ stylistically finds itself somewhere between those extremes: its awesome intro and the excellent guitar arrangement of the chorus dial up the drama of the song, but at its core, it’s still a fairly uncomplicated headbanger with some great riffs. Another thing that stands out about ‘New Horizons’ is how much the rumbling bass sound enhances the bottom end. Quite rare in contemporary melodic metal.
Anyone looking for a shot of true heavy metal adrenalin should give ‘New Horizons’ a shot. It simply has everything one could want from a melodic metal album, no matter what era it’s from: powerful riffs, melodies that will staple themselves to the back of your head, driving rhythms, and a fantastic singer.
The slight touch of hard rock in the songwriting department does make the band stand out a bit.
SkyEye is a powerful, classic heavy metal band first and foremost. And a good one at that.
01 – The Descenders
02 – Fight!
03 – Far Beyond
04 – Railroad of Dreams
05 – Saraswati
06 – New Horizons
07 – The Voice from the Silver Mountain
08 – Forgotten Nation
09 – Nightfall
10 – The Emerald River
11 – 1917
Jan – Vocals
Primoz – Bass
Mare – Guitars
Urban – Guitars
Jurij – Drums
Pre order:
visionmerch.com/skyeye/skyeye-horizons-marbled-vinyl-2-lp/