Review Summary: Not the most original, but really good for a first and above all free EP.
Some bands have more fame than others and like we all know this can be caused by several reasons. It’s not hard to imagine a bad band without fame, simple because they just don’t deserve it. But in the case of
Shattered Skies it’s not the band which is causing the problem, It’s the genre.
Shattered Skies is an Irish quartet, originating from Dublin that plays Melodic Groove metal (or Djent) and currently exists out of the following members;
- Vocals: Sean Murphy
- Bass: James Dunne
- Drums & Synthesizer programming: Ross McMahon
- Guitars & Keyboards: Ian Rockett
Polyrhythms, low tuned guitars, jumpy melodies and a dark undertone dominate the music produced by
Shattered Skies. However, unlike a lot of their peers there is more to their music then you might think.
Vocally
Shattered Skies shares a lot of similarities with the band
Being, both are melodic groove metal bands that focus more on clean vocals and choose to (mostly) shy away from harsh vocals. A decision well made in both cases, on
Shattered Skies part Sean Murphy’s voice is powerful, warm, manly and above all it suits the atmosphere of their songs very well. Neither is his voice overproduces or overly autotuned nor does he sound like a twelve year boy, which is often the case with this kind of bands. At a certain song on the EP there are a few segments of harsh vocals to be found, usually in the background. These harsh vocals are pretty low, low screams (as they can’t be classified as growls) and fit the music really good as they give it an even darker edge.
Musically one could easily relate them to
TesseracT,
CiLiCe or even
Uneven Structure. Like the earlier mentioned bands
Shattered Skies places a lot more importance on atmosphere and ambient noises while still maintaining the typical “djent” sound familiar to
Meshuggah. However, what
Shattered Skies truly sets apart is their use of keyboards which is classy, tasteful and fits their sound perfectly. Never did they sound out-of-place, cheesy or did they distract from the music. Instead they did what they were supposed to do, enhance the music and give it that “little extra” that every band strives for and very few actually accomplish.
Nothing is perfect however and for those who took a quick peek at the score might have noticed I didn’t gave it a perfect score. Nothing is objectively perfect, neither is this record. And while I consider it to be very good it is severely plagued by repetition (a common problem in the genre). After listening to this EP as a whole one might become confused at which song he is listening to, simple because the riffing isn’t that diverse. And for an EP that spans for almost 40 minutes it can become quite tiresome.
I know a lot of people will ignore this band simple because of the fact they play “Djent”. I however ask of you to gives these guys a chance, while not overly original they did present us with a quality first EP and above all it’s free. It’s fun record and these guys obviously have more talent and potential than most bands out there and while I doubt they will change your opinion about the genre they will at least make the foundations of those doubts tremble a bit. I might be a little generous with the rating but currently I stand by my opinion.
Shattered Skies found themselves a small little area in the genre that they can truly call their own and where they truly shine, a niche so to speak.
3.5/5
The Good:- Incredibly competent vocalist;
- Great use of keyboards;
- An audible and proficient bassist;
- Despite being free it’s of great quality.
The Bad:- Repetitive;
- Why flaunt with great harsh vocals when you only use them in a single song?
Recommended songs:- Beneath the Waves
- This is what we build
