What originally started as Keshav Dhar’s bedroom project in India (known as Hydrodjent) has turned into something much bigger than anyone would have imagined. Now known as Skyharbor, it is a collaboration of top notch musicians including the likes of Daniel Tompkins (ex-Tesseract) at the helm and Anup Sastry behind the drum kit. Not to mention a huge guest spot with Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) providing solos on multiple songs. Also, fellow countryman Sunneith Revankar from the stand out Indian metal band Bhayanak Maut covers the vocals on some tracks.
The debut Skyharbor album “Blinding White Noise: Chaos & Illusion” is easily one of the best records to come out this year. With Keshav Dhar’s larger than life, incredibly original and mature songwriting, huge soundscapes, Daniel Tompkin’s soaring vocals, and the album’s overall indescribable beauty, “Blinding White Noise” sounds like music of the gods. I might honestly give this album a perfect 10 out of 10. And I don’t give 10’s lightly.
No metal band from India has ever earned such a level of prestige. Skyharbor is reffered to as “India’s Brightest Hope” by some and it’s easy to hear why if you’ve ever given “Blinding White Noise” a listen. But it hasn’t been easy for Skyharbor. Being an Indian metal band trying to gain international attention is a rocky endeavor. However, they were picked up the European record label Basick Records (amazing label) for the release of “Blinding White Noise” internationally, and have since shared stages with bands like Lamb of God. They will also be playing the progressive metal festival of dreams, Euroblast 8 next month.
Skyharbor has a cool video which gives insight into how the band was formed. Apparently it’s only the first of a series documenting this awesome musical unit. We have that and some great music for you to enjoy. Hope you all have a good one!
