DARK SKY – Initium (2012)
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Germany’s DARK SKY was one of the more versatile rockin’ acts of the past decade.
The band morphs again with their fifth album “Initium”, making a turn toward more Euro melodic metal. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that ‘initium’ is latin for ‘beginning.’
But their melodic hard rock / AOR roots are still present in the background on many of the tracks in “Initium”.
Songs like “The Rock”, “Shout It Out” and the quite catchy “You’re Alive” have a solid hard rock groove & punch coursing through the arrangement.
Put the two songs “Gethsemane”, an instrumental, with the following “I Swear”, and Dark Sky develops into melodic metal. Then back to edgier hard rock on “Shout It Out” and an epic metal anthem on the closer, “Eternity”.
Keyboardist Claudio Nobile flashes a little of his hook line skills on the mid-tempo “Food for a Million”, while the follow up “Judas 1- Dancing With the Devil” showcases guitarist Steffen Doll’s adept emotive soloing skills along with the requisite balance of heavier, heads down riffing and catching transitions.
Dark Sky use their age and maturity to build songs that have something to say in terms of both musicianship and arrangement. The keyboards give that something extra in terms of atmosphere (not acting as a ‘guest’) that works really well and the guitars are heavy and blazing.
Same goes for the rhythmic parts that provide the base for something that’s melodic and expressive but still is metal.
The vocals are like a chameleon: heavy and rough were needed, sensitive in other parts and narrative in relative musical stories.
The theme seems to center around Jesus Christ’s final days from the last passover to his resurrection. Specific subjects includes Judas Iscariot’s possession by the devil to betray Jesus and his subsequent suicide by hanging.
Take for exaple “Last Supper”, the apostle Peter’s denial of Christ (“I Swear”); and Christ’s resurrection from the dead in “You’re Alive”. Most often the music brings these lyrical themes alive, and are really interesting.
“Initial” is an effective melodic metal & hard ‘n heavy album from Dark Sky, surely their more mature to date.
Between the attractive and entertaining music and the deft and deliberate handling of the lyrical themes, this is a very strong album, a significant advancement for the band.
With an above-average production job, Dark Sky gives us a recording that has one of those vibes where it gets better the further you trek into the 56 minute release.
Good one.
01. Initium
02. The Vision
03. Food For A Million
04. Judas 1 – Dancing With The Devil
05. Last Supper
06. Gethsemane
07. I Swear
08. Lost In Confusion
09. Interludium
10. Judas 2 – Take My Life
11. You’re Alive
12. The Rock
13. Shout It Out
14. Eternity
Frank Breuninger – Vocals
Steffen Doll – Guitar
Claudio Nobile – Keys
Winny Zurek – Bass
Uwe Mayer – Drums
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