Timeless Departure

I must say, from the perspective of a wide-ranged music enthusiast, this album is nearly perfect. Timeless Departure combines the elements of orchestral music, death/black metal, and symphonic metal in complete harmony.

The opening track grips your attention with a melodic/classical introduction., seemingly setting the stage for a full on-assault. However good the next track may be, we only see the album's true power beginning with 'The Universe Unveils'., which introduces agonizing shrieks into the orchestral bombast, perfectly playing off of each other.

Think that 'catchy' songs are only endemic to the field of pop music? Think again. This album gripped me with complex, yet memorable melodies in epic sequences; I cannot get enough! Yet with this 'catchy-ness', Skyfire still manages to maintain highly skilled musicianship, and not compromise the power of their music. The lyrics are exceedingly meaningful, which can be told by the tone of the music, as well as the screams expressing the very fabric of desolation and a mindset of the apocalypse. Amazingly, this music is fun to listen to, high quality, and meaningful at the same time! Shocked?

Skyfire is such a unique band that it cannot be grouped into the same genre as Children of Bodom and Kalmah. I found Children of Bodom to merely use keyboards as a slight add-on, while Skyfire integrates them fully as a part of their music. Kalmah pulls of the melodies better than Bodom, as well as introducing deeper levels of power and meaning to their song, but has not reached this level. Skyfire, with their opening release, blasts into the metal scene with a brand of metal so symphonic that the term is an understatement. Yes, the death metal orchestra has arrived! And they will crush you with their thundering, epic yet deeply emotional brand of epic music.

The songs I would most recommend off this album are: All of them! Each song is nearly a perfect ten out of ten, although 'Timeless Departure' and 'Dimensions Unseen' seem to stand out as more powerful.

So why did this not get a 100? Well, unfortunately, the production is only above average. This was the only problem I had with the album; with perfect production, it may have been slightly better, although it would have not made much difference. Even so, I am not complaining, and this is better production than most bands' first full album.


I recommend this as a valuable part of any metal listener's collection. You will not be disappointed. I even would go as far as to recommend this to someone who does not typically listen to metal; if you can get used to the vocals (which are superior to those in most 'harsh metal' bands), you will love this music.