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SKYGLOW
Thousand Years Of Terror

Grotesque Sounds / Inverse (2018)
Rating: 9.5/10

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Starting out as Eyes Of Skyglow, this two-piece act – Alexander Mokin (vocals) and Sergey Stepanenko (guitar and bass) – has evolved into Skyglow, an impressive progressive death metal act out of Moscow.

The single ‘Sacred Self-Deceit’ was released to warn us of the arrival of the debut platter and was a jolly good lump of tech-death; from its subtle introduction of mere stark acoustic to the sudden jolt into jarring thrash sensibilities. The death metal traits seem nigh on non-existent as the duo opt for a Sadus / Obliveon / Despair / Anacrusis / later Death-style of jerking, but give them credit, Skyglow bring a tasty, fleshy vocal sneer and enough arrogance, mocking and complex infrastructures to make the track at once bewildering yet engrossing.

Thankfully then, the rest of the record follows the same uneven trajectories – complicated pathways and jagged avenues giving way to intricate drum patterns (courtesy of guest skinsman Dmitriy Kim), bemusing bass contortions and intriguing leads. And that’s everything I love about technical, thinking man’s metal, because even with all those nippy ingredients there’s still that caustic death / thrash blend – even if headbanging to such an event may cause eternal muscle spasms and brain explosions.

Vocally, we have a dry, rasping style that leads us through a maze of varying currents that are blessed with subtle passages, haunting melodious strains and more importantly extreme metal, but delivered with enough bite and burn to leave you spinning.

On the rattling fizz of ‘Limitless Fog Of Anguish’ Mokin snaps “Sentenced before birth to early death in a sea of pain, Doomed to suffer forever chained in fetters of decay” over a tirade of devilish riffs and killer snare. Clearly this is a rather humourless and pessimistic release, but where many acts of similar vein like to waffle on about cosmic creations, Skyglow, in spite of their rather Disney / James Bond-styled moniker, like to viciously commentate on parental care, euthanasia, abortion and other governmental fuck ups; the musicians cleverly speaking about their projections with some of the best, if somewhat heavy topics I’ve heard for a while.

The epic ‘Losing Humanity’ is another bleak expression built around the bleak tale of military conflict. A haunting piano kicks things off before we’re introduced to a traditional metal groove and then pacier gallop before Mokin, over a choppy rhythm, snarls “Look at what you are, An unfeeling rabid beast, What’s left inside your heart?, Is there some place for empathy? Why don’t you free your mind, Of this needless thirst for blood? When will you realize, That people are all alike?” But it’s the unexpected chorus with flecks of Cynic that really comes as a surprise, making for a truly engaging and mystical listen as once again the piano leaks in.

At over ten-minutes in duration the title track comes trickling in, and again there’s that brooding atmosphere as I await a yarn pertaining to religion. However, this song also goes for the throat, spilling its angst out via zipping leads and a tight-as-fuck rhythm that strangles.

The percussion is as dry yet blustery as one would come to expect from this style of complex metal. But everything about this opus in general just feels right, and the intricacy never reliant on jazzy effects. Instead, we are blitzed by a bone dry and often grey veil of technical speed and military precision.

‘A New Age’, in its title anyway, may promise a sudden beacon of light amidst the war-torn grey haze, but that cold snap is still present in each instrument as further threads of war and oppression come tumbling, leaving Mokin to grumble “A new age of slavery has begun, Starting the script once again, No escape from this endless circle, Of human pain”. Damn, it’s time to reach for the anti-depressants!

Musically, however, there’s never a sombre moment; the whole shift being one so flighty and spiked before the onset of closing instrumental ‘…And The Circle Is Closed’ with its scathing jars and barbed thrash trickles.

As commentators on all that has gone on and gone wrong in their native land, Skyglow sure as hell know their stuff, and by channelling through a soundtrack of harsh, grating, convulsing rhythms this talented duo has mesmerised and emotionally gifted me more than any documentary could. Forget the news… Skyglow is the news. Time to wake up; know your history and know your metal!

Neil Arnold

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