SHATTERED SKIES: “THE WORLD WE USED TO KNOW”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Jan 272015
 

(TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album by the UK/Ireland band Shattered Skies.)

I was rabidly a fan of Shattered Skies’ debut EP Reanimation back in 2011. Their odd djent-meets-heavier-power-metal like Symphony X and Evergrey style made them really stick out to me. I’ve waited FOREVER for these guys to put out a full-length, and I was honestly wondering if they ever would. The World We Used To Know completely blew away my expectations for a debut from them, and it’s a definite surprise first highlight of 2015.

The grooves on this record are like getting hit by concrete-filled boxing gloves, but it’s all punctuated by some absolutely angelic, infectious, and overwhelming vocal melodies, along with stellar keyboard and string incorporations. Continue reading »

BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR: SHATTERED SKIES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Feb 102013
 

(In this post, TheMadIsraeli reminds us about an Irish band he first introduced to us back in June 2011 — a band who have just released a single and video called “15 Minutes” from their forthcoming debut album.)

I decided to use a shirt design by this band since they don’t have official artwork for their upcoming full-length revealed yet.  I thought it quite badass.

Shattered Skies are a band I only gave a brief mention to on the site when I first started writing here.  They had a free to download debut EP out at the time called Reanimations which I included in an EP download bundle I had put together. I’ve followed the band since, because I really liked their sound and found it quite engrossing.  I felt doing a spotlight feature on them was appropriate at this time, especially since they’ve finally announced a full-length to be out this year titled The World We Used to Know.

Shattered Skies are a rather interesting band, stemming from the djent movement but having moved out into a rather odd arena that is all their own.  This band is an exception to the rule around here, a huge one, but one I feel worth bringing to the forefront.

Essentially what we have is a band who combine djent rhythmic conventions with Evergrey-style power metal. Continue reading »

THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF Q2 2011

 Listmania  32 Responses »
Jul 012011
 

(NCS writer Israel Flanders bravely sticks his neck out with his list of the best albums released during the second quarter of 2011 — April, May, and June.)

So I’m back. Been out of it for the last week or so and just decided it was time to take some lazy days, but it’s time to get back to the fuckin’ metal and the fuckin’ headbanging action. It’s now the end of the second quarter of 2011 and I figured I would continue my top ten of every quarter series, which I started at The Metal Register. So, just for refreshers sake, let’s take a look at what I picked for Q1. In no particular order I had…

Sylosis – Edge Of The Earth
Eradication – Dreams Of Reality
TesseracT – One
Born Of Osiris – The Discovery
Rotten Sound – Cursed
Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising
Crowbar – Sever The Wicked Hand
Paul Wardingham – Assimilate/Regenerate
Times Of Grace – Hymn Of A Broken Man
Deicide – To Hell With God

So now we move on to the list for Q2. I know people are going to complain, bitch, moan, and otherwise cry at me through the comments on how often I didn’t pick your favorite tech-death band that sounds like rejected Psycroptic demos, but if I haven’t heard it, I’m not gonna pick it. Now let’s get to the albums shall we?  (after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

AN NCS EP BUNDLE: THE APOCRYPHAL ORDER, SHATTERED SKIES, AND ROOKS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  19 Responses »
Jun 062011
 

(Intrepid NCS writer Israel Flanders has single-handedly convinced three excellent and musically diverse bands — The Apocryphal Order (The Faroe Islands), Shattered Skies (Ireland), and Rooks (Illinois) — to let us offer you their recent EP’s for free download, and we’re bundling them together for you in a package. But first, Israel has a few words of introduction . . .)

Guess what, I have a special treat for you today. Three bands agreed to let me post their EP’s today, so what I got for you is a music bundle! I’m gonna do brief summaries of these for you guys and let you be on your way =)

Go read my review of The Apocryphal Order’s self-titled EP here (“this album is full of furious thrash and death metal riffing, every drum beat you could possibly imagine, tempo changes, brutal hoarse vocals . . . . imagine a love child of Death, Testament, Forbidden, and Deicide“). (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »