Once again, I invite you all to let your mind and body levitate to the beautiful soundscapes created by the magic brains of Bend The Sky. After the memorable debut album “Origins”, released in July 2012, this band has returned with their new, epic EP “Observatory”. Get ready to leave for another unforgettable musical journey. Your ears and spirit will thank you for it.
For those of you who don’t know this band, all you have to know is in the presentation we posted a month ago right here. Basically, this amazing Australian band puts creates instrumental progressive metal on a whole other level. To give an idea, you can download their debut album “Origins” for FREE on Bandcamp!
This amazing experience lifts off with the intro track “Alpha”. This is mainly an atmospheric start with some electronic hints that leads to the real opener of the EP, “Orbit”. This is such an intense track that in the final section you will feel your soul jump out and embrace the greatness. The title track “Observatory” is probably the most remarkable chapter of this release. Especially because it features guitar passages heavier and more complex than usual. But it doesn’t disturb the greatness of the song. Instead, it empowers it and brings it to an even higher and more dramatic level.
“As Planets Collide” starts as a joyful track but keeps growing in darkness until a very aggressive and unexpectedly fast section rips towards the end. Probably the heaviest episode off “Observatory”. “Void” is a groovy track, showing how the band has improved in a very short time through elaborating new original guitar solutions. The ambiance keeps playing a fundamental role in this track as well, with a melodic section strongly influenced by both traditional progressive metal and modern djent innovations. The last track is “Reform II” is a worthy sequel to the track of the same name which opened “Origins”. It’s one of the most theatrical tracks off the EP, even though it’s very short and apparently built just to end the EP in the perfect way.
That’s all. I really have no criticisms of this new release. It’s got everything we could expect from a Bend The Sky EP. This is what they do best, done at their finest. It successfully provides unbelievable, orchestral instrumentation and an impressive surrounding ambiance. It also substantially improved on the few flaws of their debut album “Origins” by not making the new work excessively based on ambiance, but also evolving and giving more importance to the guitar passages, delivering a more elaborate, conscious and original riaffage. This is all you have to do, download it, listen to it, love it and dream of it every night.
– MATTIA
