Outsiders

I’ve been following fellow Floridians Skyliner since their early demos, and they have finally put out a full length album in Outsiders. They play a propulsive, complex style with a lot of heavy riffing and aggression, but clean vocals and an overall dedication to what power metal is really about: high flying choruses and galloping Maiden references. What I like about these guys is that they don’t really sound like any one band. You hear some Maiden as well as some Running Wild, and some other bands like Rage and a less proggy Symphony X – but no one influence really jumps out as the main one. I'd actually find it really interesting to know what bands Skyliner count as tangible influences on their music. These guys really have crafted a sound all their own. While not avant garde, it is not imitative of any band or school of sound, and powers out with a real identity.

The problem is that it’s just too long. I like all of these songs to some degree, but they’re just too long on the whole – a full album with no songs under six minutes is a hefty undertaking, and unfortunately not something I feel like playing from start to end very often because of that. These are epic and complex compositions – lots of different parts and changing pace, and the songs are written well enough so that they never bore you. However so many songs hitting the eight minute mark just makes the whole thing too hard to digest all the way through.

I can hear a lot of potential here otherwise, which makes it a shame the length is so unwieldy. Vocalist Jake Becker has grown into a pro-sounding midrange, and occasionally he varies it up with a gruffer shout a la Rage or Grave Digger style. The riffs are heavy and hooky, stomping and snarling like a pro band, and the lead guitarwork is also very good – melodic and intense. The energy level is always high and the band sounds excited and energized. I have to say I like the variety between songs, as even after one listen I could already tell them apart – every track has a clear identity and focus.

On songs like opener “Symphony in Black” and “Dawn of the Dead,” they wing out crunchy, galloping riffs like they’d been doing it their whole lives and sound sort of like a more intricate Running Wild, but those aren’t my favorite tunes on this thing. More individual tracks like the killer stomp of “Undying Wings” (the best track on here, I think) and the Tad Morose-esque “The Human Residue” see the band venturing into slightly more complex waters, with a lot of verve and presence. “Aria of the Waters” has been held over from their 2009 demo, and I still think it’s a great song. With gentle acoustics, delicate vocals and soft ambiance building up into a melodic storm by the end, it’s a killer, emotional and captivating trip.

The 21-minute closer “Worlds of Change” is ambitious to a fault – while it has a lot of different parts, it never quite comes together. After the rest of the album has already been so long and drawn out, it’s kind of like running a 10K marathon and then being asked to do it again once it’s over – it’s just a bit too much.

None of these songs really scream 'classic' yet, but that's a real stretch to expect on a debut album. For a young band, these guys are already really good, as they don't just rip off other bands and they sound really pro in pretty much every aspect. In the end this is a well written and impassioned album of heavy power metal that I don’t often listen to due to its length. I think these guys have a lot of potential, and I look forward to see what they do next – personally, I think the sign of a maturing band is when they can reign themselves in and dazzle an audience with shorter and more compact releases. Whatever path Skyliner takes, however, I hope they will continue to deliver great metal for a while to come.

P.S. Sorry for the late review, Jake!