The 2015 Arsies: February 10, 2015

February 10, 2015 arse

Skyharbor's Guiding Light is a gorgeous album, taking the time to build a complex atmosphere of melancholic metal. That's the good news. The bad news is that the album has a couple of obvious exploitable weaknesses. First, the kind of worldbuilding on display here really needs emotional content that resonates with the listener, and that need isn't always fulfilled successfully here. Also, the atmosphere always takes time to set up, in the form of a song intro, and it seems to take precedence over anything like hooks or memorable riffs. Perhaps the biggest weakness today is that, when you take the time to craft a delicate gossamer of sound, you may be defenseless against a rough opponent... which is exactly what happens here. Every Time I Die's From Parts Unknown tears right through the competition, filling in every gap that Skyharbor leaves open: shredding and memorable riffs without preamble, in a steady stream of high-energy rage. ETID trounce Skyharbor this morning, and are headed to the Quarterfinals. We'll find out tonight who their opponents will be. Is it going to be BABYMETAL or Job For A Cowboy?

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