Key details like release date and title have yet to materialize, but Skyharbor fans have recently gotten another reassurance that work on album number three does indeed continue. And while previous single "Out of Time" was more of a grower for this guy, Skyharbor's latest offering hooks me quicker and deeper.
"Blind Side" feels like it would be right at home alongside Guiding Lights standouts like "Evolution" -- it's big and melodic, with the right amounts of heavy and groove and emotion. To me, this is Skyharbor firing on pretty much all cylinders, and this is the kind of song they need to populate album three with. If they can do that, my copy of the next Skyharbor album will be getting lots of play.
Showing posts with label Guiding Lights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guiding Lights. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Saturday: Skyharbor - Celestial
By now all you Skyharbor fans out there will likely have heard the news, but for those who haven't: singer Dan Tompkins is, alas, parting ways with Skyharbor and dedicating himself completely to his work with Tesseract (real blow for Tesseract fans, right?) and presumably his other solo/session stuff.
Skyharbor fans take heart, however, because the band has already introduced the world to Dan's replacement, American vocalist/producer Eric Emery, and even provided a little taste of what's in store for us as far as Eric's Skyharbor vocals will be concerned. Click right about here to sample Eric's take on Guiding Lights lead single "Evolution".
Facebook tells me tracking for a new Skyharbor single is about to begin, so maybe we'll hear Eric on some new material sooner than we think. In the meantime, however, we're going to go back to square one for your way-late Saturday Skyharbor song. Go back in time a bit and check out the epic "Celestial" from Skyharbor's superb debut Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos and then join me in counting down the days until we get some Eric-led Skyharbor.
Skyharbor fans take heart, however, because the band has already introduced the world to Dan's replacement, American vocalist/producer Eric Emery, and even provided a little taste of what's in store for us as far as Eric's Skyharbor vocals will be concerned. Click right about here to sample Eric's take on Guiding Lights lead single "Evolution".
Facebook tells me tracking for a new Skyharbor single is about to begin, so maybe we'll hear Eric on some new material sooner than we think. In the meantime, however, we're going to go back to square one for your way-late Saturday Skyharbor song. Go back in time a bit and check out the epic "Celestial" from Skyharbor's superb debut Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos and then join me in counting down the days until we get some Eric-led Skyharbor.
Friday, 13 March 2015
Skyharbor - Idle Minds
Despite the fact that I'm both a Skyharbor fanboy and a Dan Tompkins fanboy, I didn't put Skyharbor's sophomore disc Guiding Lights on my Best of 2014 list. That doesn't mean, however, that Guiding Lights isn't a solid album deserving of at least another day in the sun.
I think I overlooked Guiding Lights at the end of the year because, for me, it didn't have the instantly memorable songs of Blinding White Noise. But Guiding Lights is a grower, not a shower. Every listen reveals another layer and sinks the album's hooks deeper.
So Skyharbor gets another Song of the Day, specifically "Idle Minds", another textbook sample of Skyharbor groove and strong Tompkins vocal performance. So when's album number three coming out then, boys?
I think I overlooked Guiding Lights at the end of the year because, for me, it didn't have the instantly memorable songs of Blinding White Noise. But Guiding Lights is a grower, not a shower. Every listen reveals another layer and sinks the album's hooks deeper.
So Skyharbor gets another Song of the Day, specifically "Idle Minds", another textbook sample of Skyharbor groove and strong Tompkins vocal performance. So when's album number three coming out then, boys?
Monday, 5 January 2015
Sunday: Skyharbor - Allure
You know I'm overfond of alliteration sometimes, and it's been a while since I've recommended you check out a Skyharbor song, so have a Skyharbor Sunday why don't you?
The other reason you're getting Skyharbor for your Sunday post is that vocalist Dan Tompkins has recently done another of his "live" vocal take videos, this time for the song "Allure" from the band's still-relatively-new album Guiding Lights. That's all the excuse I need to feature the track and tell you to check it out.
And in addition to yet another powerful performance from Dan -- including a glass-breaker of a high note -- you get some jazzy lead work part-way through that perfectly compliments the kind of groove the band is building throughout this jam. If you're not into what Skyharbor does, then you probably won't dig this one. But if you like them already, or just plain don't know them, then this one's for you.
The other reason you're getting Skyharbor for your Sunday post is that vocalist Dan Tompkins has recently done another of his "live" vocal take videos, this time for the song "Allure" from the band's still-relatively-new album Guiding Lights. That's all the excuse I need to feature the track and tell you to check it out.
And in addition to yet another powerful performance from Dan -- including a glass-breaker of a high note -- you get some jazzy lead work part-way through that perfectly compliments the kind of groove the band is building throughout this jam. If you're not into what Skyharbor does, then you probably won't dig this one. But if you like them already, or just plain don't know them, then this one's for you.
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Saturday: The Helix Nebula - Sailing Stone
Will tonight be the night I finally get caught up with the Real World calendar? Read on to find out!
My boy Plini is all over the place these days. Not content to just finish up the third EP in his badass trilogy, he's also done some guest work recently, for Skyharbor's sophomore effort Guiding Lights as well as the EP Meridian by fellow Aussies The Helix Nebula.
The song in question is "Sailing Stone", for which the guys in the band have recently released a playthrough video, and the solo Plini recorded is about a minute in. But you shouldn't just skip ahead; no, you should really stick around for the whole thing, because it's a six-plus-minute slice of proggy instrumental metal that keeps moving the whole time and never gets boring. The next release or two from The Helix Nebula could be especially tasty.
My boy Plini is all over the place these days. Not content to just finish up the third EP in his badass trilogy, he's also done some guest work recently, for Skyharbor's sophomore effort Guiding Lights as well as the EP Meridian by fellow Aussies The Helix Nebula.
The song in question is "Sailing Stone", for which the guys in the band have recently released a playthrough video, and the solo Plini recorded is about a minute in. But you shouldn't just skip ahead; no, you should really stick around for the whole thing, because it's a six-plus-minute slice of proggy instrumental metal that keeps moving the whole time and never gets boring. The next release or two from The Helix Nebula could be especially tasty.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Saturday: Skyharbor - Halogen
We're only a day or two from the release of Skyharbor's sophomore disc Guiding Lights, but you may have already checked the album out via one channel or another.
Maybe you're one of those who, like me, crowdfunded Guiding Lights and had the good fortune to get their download codes a little early this past week. Or maybe you're one of those who've checked out the leaked version of the album, the existence of which caused us crowdfunders to get their codes early in the first place.
Let's pretend, however, that you're everybody else and have yet to hear the entirety of Guiding Lights. To sustain you until the record hits stores and streams in force this week, the guys have released another follow-up song to "Evolution" and "Patience". Musically, new single "Halogen" sits somewhere in between those previous two tracks: it's not as epic and immediately "singley" as "Evolution", but it's also not as mellow and down tempo as "Patience". It's heavy, but not bludgeoningly so, and it's catchy without sounding overly concerned with being catchy.
All told, "Halogen" is a pretty good representation of where Skyharbor seems to be at right now, so if you're eagerly awaiting Guiding Lights this one'll help you make it the last couple of days.
Maybe you're one of those who, like me, crowdfunded Guiding Lights and had the good fortune to get their download codes a little early this past week. Or maybe you're one of those who've checked out the leaked version of the album, the existence of which caused us crowdfunders to get their codes early in the first place.
Let's pretend, however, that you're everybody else and have yet to hear the entirety of Guiding Lights. To sustain you until the record hits stores and streams in force this week, the guys have released another follow-up song to "Evolution" and "Patience". Musically, new single "Halogen" sits somewhere in between those previous two tracks: it's not as epic and immediately "singley" as "Evolution", but it's also not as mellow and down tempo as "Patience". It's heavy, but not bludgeoningly so, and it's catchy without sounding overly concerned with being catchy.
All told, "Halogen" is a pretty good representation of where Skyharbor seems to be at right now, so if you're eagerly awaiting Guiding Lights this one'll help you make it the last couple of days.
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Skyharbor - Patience
As I've said before, there are days when it takes me a while to find a song that hooks me enough that I feel I need to share it with all of you. And then there are days when a perfect song more or less falls into my lap -- or, more accurately, our collective internet laps. The latest track from Sylosis, which I featured over the weekend, is one good example. Today's song is another.
Those regular readers I'm so often addressing should know by now that I'm a big fan of both Skyharbor and their vocalist Dan Tompkins. I threw some money at the crowdfunding campaign for their sophomore album Guiding Lights and have been awaiting the record's release ever since, with only lead single "Evolution" to tide me over. And while "Evolution" is completely badass, I'm impatient and don't want to wait for the album's November release date to roll around before I get to hear some more new Skyharbor.
Thankfully the guys have got me (and you!) covered. Today they publicly unveiled the video for second single "Patience" after giving it a limited release yesterday to their pledge campaign supporters. Musically the song's a bit of a ballad, meaning it's not necessarily as heavy as "Evolution" or some of their older material. But throw in the cool paper cutout puppet-style animated video, and fugedaboudit, you've got something pretty sweet on your hands. If Guiding Lights isn't a top ten of the year candidate, I'll eat my beard.
Those regular readers I'm so often addressing should know by now that I'm a big fan of both Skyharbor and their vocalist Dan Tompkins. I threw some money at the crowdfunding campaign for their sophomore album Guiding Lights and have been awaiting the record's release ever since, with only lead single "Evolution" to tide me over. And while "Evolution" is completely badass, I'm impatient and don't want to wait for the album's November release date to roll around before I get to hear some more new Skyharbor.
Thankfully the guys have got me (and you!) covered. Today they publicly unveiled the video for second single "Patience" after giving it a limited release yesterday to their pledge campaign supporters. Musically the song's a bit of a ballad, meaning it's not necessarily as heavy as "Evolution" or some of their older material. But throw in the cool paper cutout puppet-style animated video, and fugedaboudit, you've got something pretty sweet on your hands. If Guiding Lights isn't a top ten of the year candidate, I'll eat my beard.
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