It seems the UK can produce decent female fronted metal after all!
Liquid Sky put on an astounding show at Bloodstock this year, but with this collection of tracks spanning their released EPs, they truly show the metal world what they are made of. This is epic, back arching feline metal that you can’t help but love.
Essentially, Liquid Sky are your standard girl fronted metal band. They’ve gritty riffs for the boys, haunting melody for the girls, and a beautiful front woman to either idolise or fantasise over, depending on which way you swing. What makes this band stand out however is the cunning way they balance the pretentious, over the top tendencies of gothic styled metal with the blunt and to the point modern UK metal- perfectly highlighted in lead-in track ‘Watch The Ocean’. The soaring voice which haunts the purring bass belongs to Emily Garrard- an enchantress of immense power and a large vocal range.
‘Open’ continues to demonstrate just how varied the music this band creates is- angst filled sighs, false endings and sudden plunges into hushed whispers are the order of the day. At just over 12 minutes long it borders on becoming somewhat tiresome, but the boundless energy all the band members display keeps the song alive. This emotion is heightened with the astounding ‘Adrenochrome’- a twisting, turning track with a decidedly oriental feel. This compliments Emily’s voice perfectly and also gives the snarling guitars even more bite when they kick in.
After the dulcet tones of Liquid Sky’s original singer, Fiona Creaby manages to told things together well. Having to ride upon a wave of comparisons is never easy, yet Fiona manages to do just this with effortless grace. Her boundless voice is vibrant, colourful and sounds even better against the screeching guitar solo found in ‘Titan’.
With Joe Rhodes on keyboards for ‘Helpless’, Fiona’s voice melts into something as soft as that of Cristina Scabbia’s best moments- the type of angst metal you can easily wail and throw dramatic poses to whilst alone in your house. Liquid Sky’s newest addition helps keep the beautiful, yet melancholy ambience flowing.
‘Dawn’s Pale Light’ begins with a slight flamenco feeling, but once Fiona’s passionate voice comes in to play against the powerful song of both Jonathan Craven’s and Audie Lewis’ double guitar attack. It is ‘Wishful Thinking’ that leaves the greatest impression- an aromatic blend of the finest anger driven guitars and floating melodies. Charting their progress through their line up changes, Bloodline is an ideal record for those wanting to discover the new blood of gothic metal or for fans of the band to reminisce on days- and lead singers- gone by.