Progarchives

Review by toroddfuglesteg (PROGARCHIVES) Special Collaborator Interview Editor & Symphonic Team The leading Lithuanian band with this, their second album. I interviewed them earlier this year and they came across as a highly professional band with a vision and a drive to succeed. Something I am sure they will do with this album. Crossover is the right word here. The Skys is perfectly comfortable outside the prog rock genre as inside our genre. This album is a crossover album in the true meaning of the word. Which makes this album a big mouthful. It is a big, big album. Where do I start ? Good question ! Seriously, where do I start ?!? The music here crosses includes so many elements and genres it is difficult to really make a review here. Also mainly due to me reviewing it as a proghead I am. I am not that keen on commercial rock. A type of music that bores me to death & beyond. This album is a very commercial album to a large extent. No, it does not have any bubblegum teenybop hit singles. But it will appeal to the middle of the road rock/pop fan out there. So this album lifts itself out of the prog genre. Music wise, The Skys has lifted a lot from Pink Floyd, post Roger Waters. I am thinking A Momentary Lapse Of Reason here. The sound, the wailing female vocals, the saxophone and the male vocals; this is the A Momentary Lapse Of Reason sound. Which worked well for Pink Floyd. They sold 10 mill of it and that sound is as popular as ever. The Skys has tapped into it and the result is very good. Then they strays off into straight rock territory too. That does not go down that well with me. But The Skys also does a lot of modern rock with electronica and jazz ever present. That goes down very well with me. So does the few prog metal stuff here too. In short; this album taps into a lot of genres. Something that should go down well at the tills and in particular; at festivals and gigs. Because the music here is probably far better live than on record. Yes, I would not mind enjoying this band live on a festival. This band is a festival band, through and through. The Skys uses both female and male vocals. Both are very good. They also uses the usual prog setup with bass, drums, guitars and keyboards. The quality……. well, this album is such a big mouthful that it is hard to digest. It is kind of tucking into one of these two and half kilos big Texas beefburgers they sell in USA. And I have both my legs planted in the prog rock camp. This album does not, though. This is difficult. Really difficult. I am tempted to award four stars. It is borderline four stars album. But a three and three quarters award will have to do. I may come back later to upgrade it, though. If you like big melodic rock with one foot in the prog rock world and the other foot somewhere else, this is the album for you. 3.75 stars