Engagingly contrasting styles pull this from average to interesting
Open The Skies is a relatively new self-proclaimed ‘screamo’ metal band from the UK who formed in 2005. Their sound mixes metal and emo influences and is characterised by grunting, to produce a fusion of heavy metal elements with soft vocal melodies. If you like your rock minus the screaming and grunting then this probably isn’t for you, because it features heavily throughout the whole album, on every single song. A fact Open The Skies seem proud of, with their proclamation in one track (‘Silhouettes On Street Corners’), “Turn off the lights and say your prayers. We’ll leave you bleeding from the ears.”
However, if you don’t particularly enjoy perforating your eardrums then don’t be deterred, because, grunting aside, the album is something that’s at least worth a listen. The opening distortion of ‘Conspiracies’ leads into a mix of guitar-led drum-thrashing metal-based melodies along with softer sections, and the lead singer’s light voice is a nice contrast to the deep grunting and screaming vocals that weave between the songs. Many of the tracks like ‘A Silent Decade’, ‘Keiko’s Last Smile’ and ‘He Spoke Of Success’ are solid metal songs with a hard-hitting chorus which disperses into a more mellow section of layered vocals and subdued drum sequences. ‘So Season Two’ has a great fast and swirling opening riff and melodic hook, making it one of the most memorable songs on the album. There’s also noticeably something that goes against the grain with ‘Yours Faithfully’. Open The Skies aren’t afraid to take the tone down, and ‘Yours Faithfully’ is a good example of this; a much quieter song than the rest that’s done completely acoustically. It’s a good song, with a complex lead guitar and great vocal harmonies. It sits starkly alone at the bottom of the album; straight afterwards the metal guitar work kicks in again.
However, the album isn’t flawless and dips a little towards the end. It’s commendable that Open The Skies have tried to cram in as much of their varying style into ‘Conspiracies’, with 14 tracks in total. However, at times they do seem to run out of ideas, and it feels quite long for a 49-minute album. Certain songs like ‘Just For You’ take the screaming and chanting too far, with these devices feeling a little overused at times. ‘A Second From Insanity’ is also guilty of this, and the closing riff sounds too much like others that have been used earlier. ‘Change’ attempts a freestyle type of sound, but the end result is a little disjointed and too separated from any discernable structure.
Despite these few down sides, I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more from this band, and their competent songwriting and playing shows that they’re good at what they do. However, with the exception of a few tracks, they’re not all that catchy and memorable as perhaps they should be. It won’t set the world alight but it could well generate certain interest thanks to its fusion of soft and hard sounds.