Countless Skies "Glow"

    In this modern metal world, I think listeners would like to see more bands taking their time to thoughtfully record an album instead of hammering out a release that shall be easily forgotten within a few months. The United Kingdom based band, Countless Skies, definitely did not squander the opportunity to record a profound release with their new album, “Glow.” I believe that this band’s strong conceptual music making talents will really resonate with people who enjoy melodic death metal.  

    “Glow,” is the band’s second full-length album to date and comes about four years after the release of their first full-length album, “New Dawn.” Their brand of melodic death metal is extremely refreshing and the compositions on this album are very well written. I think what listeners will notice about this album right away is the strong production value and dynamic songwriting style. Out of the seven tracks off of this release, the band never settles for simplistic derivative sounding arrangements.

    The opening song, “Tempest,” is a great piece of music to get listeners acquainted with the band’s style and artistic vision. I thought the guitar riffs on the opening song injected a lot of triumphant energy, yet also matched the emotional tone of the vocal parts. The band uses death growls as well as clean soaring melodic vocals to paint a vivid picture over the majestic sounding instrumental arrangements. This same approach continues on the second track, “Summit,” but you start to hear even more massive sounding guitar riffs come crashing through the landscape and setting up a blazing path for the band to explore further. 

    Track number three, “Moon,” starts out very calm and then bursts into a fearsome sounding guitar and drum arrangement that leads into an epic sounding chorus section. Once again, the band constructs these fluid compositions that are not choppy, or sound out of place. On the next song, “Zephyr,” I honestly believe that the band writes one of the most exceptional pieces music off of this album. The overall atmosphere sounds truly immaculate and the entire band pulls together their talents to record a track that listeners can find themselves drifting away into a cloud of endless harmonious sounding wonder. This track alone makes the album worth listen to and it made me realize how unbelievably talented these musicians are when pertaining to songwriting. 

    The last three tracks off of the album, “Glow part 1: Resolution,” “Glow part 2: Awakening” “Glow part 3: Reflection,” all take on their own distinct identity, however, they all share that same ambitious mentality. I liked the bass riff in the beginning of, “Glow part 1: Resolution,” because it gave the bass player a chance to add to the song’s soothing tone. The last the two tracks also feature a plethora of creative structures and the contrasting vocal styles really compliment the lyrical themes featured on both songs. 

    I think what impressed me most about this album was how Countless Skies continued to push themselves throughout the entire release. As the album progressed each track seemed to get better and better, yet when you look at the entire album you realize that the band did a stellar job writing an impressive tale from beginning to end. More bands need to adopt this mentality when writing albums, because instead of just focusing on a couple tracks, you want people reflecting back on the entire release. I look forward to the next musical epic that this band has to offer and I highly recommend people check out, "Glow." 

Check out the song "Summit" below (Album comes out November 6th, 2020 and is being released through Willowtip Records) :

Countless Skies FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/CountlessSkies

Willowtip Records website:

https://willowtip.com/home.aspx

Interview with James Pratt from Countless Skies

Recently James Pratt from the band Countless Skies took the time to answer some questions I had for him about the group's recent single "Solace." Also, he talks about their appearance at the Bloodstock Festival and what they plan to do moving forward. Check it out...



Q: Hey there! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I would like to begin by asking about the recording process of, “Solace,” your brand new single. How long did the writing and recording process take? Who was the main songwriter, or was the entire band involved in the writing process?

 
A: We wrote the song as part of the writing process for our album. For this one in particular, I took a couple of riffs that Ross had been working on and expanded them into a full song, but it wasn’t until we got into the studio that the song took its final form. In particular, the acoustic interlude that Phil played and his vocal parts weren’t written until we came to record them. The whole experience was great fun, we travelled down to HVR Studios in Ipswich and spent the day with Danny B (of Criminal/Pentagram Chile).


Q: Now that the single has been out for a bit, what responses have you been getting from your fans? Most importantly, give us your thoughts on the single and the overall experience of having a recording available to people across the globe?

 
A: The feedback has been great, people are really liking the song. One of the most common criticisms of our EP was the sound quality, because we recorded it by ourselves, so the top priority this time round was to get everything recorded professionally.

 

Q: I think readers might be interested in a little background information, so I was wondering if you could tell me when Countless Skies formed? Also, is “Solace” the first official recording that the band has released? 



A: Ross and I have been mates for years, and started jamming together when we were about thirteen. In 2009 we wrote an EP under the name Hatespire, and Phil agreed to record us and provide clean vocals for one of the tracks. Phil joined us permanently on bass, and Nathan found an advert we’d posted online looking for a drummer. We played a few gigs but then all got too busy, so left it for a few years. After a while we got the urge to carry on, so Ross and I started writing music for what would become our self-titled EP under the new name Countless Skies. We put that out at the end of last year, and Solace will be included on our first full-length.



Q: Being a fan of progressive rock along with heavy metal, I really enjoyed hearing how you guys took the songs into a variety of directions. There was definitely a progressive rock element in the song with that solid metal side too. Could you name some of your musical influences that have shaped your own possible musical identity? 



A: We’re huge fans of Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum, and I think that shows. Also, our name is taken from a track by Be’lakor. That said, we all listen to a variety of different genres so we’re always open to take tracks in different directions. Personally, I’m a huge Genesis fan, so it wouldn’t take me long to get bored if all of our songs just stuck to a predicable structure.

 

Q: After looking at your Facebook page, I noticed Countless Skies was booked to play Bloodstock Festival. That must have been extremely exciting and I was wondering if you might share that experience? How did you guys react when first being told you would be playing Bloodstock? Any bands playing the festival that you were excited to see?



A: We got to play Bloodstock by winning our local Metal 2 The Masses competition, hosted at The Castle in Luton. We were so surprised, the bands we played with throughout the competition were incredible. I had no idea there was so much great talent in the area. We’ve all been to Bloodstock just as fans (for Ross, this was his tenth time!), so playing it this year is a dream come true. Unfortunately, because of when we played, we had to miss some great acts like Ne Obliviscaris, Enslaved and Ihsahn. We did catch Opeth though. There were some awesome bands in the Sophie and New Blood tents this year - King Leviathan, Ageless Oblivion and Fleshgod Apocalypse, to name a few.

 

Q:With this question I want to possibly get a glimpse into what the future holds for Countless Skies. Are you working on a full-length album or maybe an EP? 



A:Yeah, we’re working on a full-length right now, and it’s coming together great. We’ll be going back to HVR Studios later in the year to record it, so you can expect it to be out in the first few months of 2016. In the meantime, we’ve got a few gigs lined up to keep us busy. The one I’m most looking forward to is with Stone Circle at B2 in Norwich. 



Q: Lastly, explain why you think fans of heavy metal should check out Countless Skies? What separates you from the other bands? 



A: That’s a tough one! If you like the bands mentioned above, or you just prefer your death metal more melody-driven, check us out. I guess I’d recommend everyone go to our Bandcamp page and download Solace, then you’ll know for sure if you like us.



Countless Skies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CountlessSkies/info?tab=page_info

Countless Skies "Solace (Single)"

    Coming across the musical landscape with a melodic death metal style and creative determination, England’s Countless Skies leaves listeners wrapping their minds around the variety of sounds that can be heard on the band’s single, “Solace.” The blend of calming melodic touches and aggressive metal sounds takes listeners into a realm of musical fascination.

    Personally, I could not get over how the single’s cover art complimented the song. If you look at the cover for this single, you will notice an individual standing amongst trees under a starry night sky with a green tint to the picture. There is a type of tranquility to this scene, but also a sense of mystery due to the green celestial light. Now, the music definitely conveys that same contrast with calming compositions and then moments of extreme elements to add diversity to the track. Once the acoustic guitar and piano riff set the path for the melodic lead guitar to paint a wondrous picture, you do not anticipate the death growl vocals that soon follow. I thought the track always kept me guessing where the band would go next, and at the same time, they maintained a brilliant melodic sounding atmosphere.

    For one song I do believe Countless Skies demonstrated tremendous musical talent. My only advice would be for the band to not settle for simplicity and to keep pushing the boundaries of melodic death metal. As a fan of progressive rock music, I really do enjoy the cleverness put into the recording of, “Solace.” Can’t wait to hear an entire album from Countless Skies. Also, I hope they make sure to use the same artist who did the cover for this single!

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