Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: SkyEye
Label: Self-released
Release date: year_month
Runtime: 21:00
Rating: 4/5
If I got a euro every time I hear an intro made of thunder, keyboards, a military drum march and operatic female vocals, I could bankroll the second rail track with no trouble, keep every union happy and patch up the hole in the banks too, so that our little country could finally flow with milk and honey the Swiss way. But since that’s all one big utopia, the same goes for those cliché intros: in the vast majority of cases, the music that follows isn’t worth much either. Still, in a reviewer’s career it sometimes happens – not often, but it does – that after a generic intro the thunder really does roll in the way it should. That’s exactly what happens on Run For Your Life, the debut EP from young Ljubljana heavy metal outfit SkyEye.
SkyEye have been together in their current lineup since 2016, and last October they dropped a debut EP with four original songs and an epic-sounding intro that leads into a little record of a good twenty minutes. The intro makes you wrongly think SkyEye will bore you with power or even folk metal, which makes the damn airy Fire look all the better, with a true heavy metal heart pounding away in it. Thematically and symbolically too, Fire sums up the sonic picture nicely, and the production is on an exceptionally high level for an EP – I haven’t heard heavy metal sound this good in Slovenia in a long time. From the very first moment, Run For Your Life is an incredibly organic, warm-sounding record that knows when to make room for razor-sharp guitars, soaring vocals and the thundering and rattling of the rhythm section.
It’s right here that SkyEye shine brightest, because instrumentally the EP is a textbook example of top-notch heavy metal. The guitar duo of Grega Stalowsky and Marko Kavčnik lays out a whole palette of lively, varied riffs straight from the Iron Maiden school. SkyEye’s guitar sound is strongly marked by harmonies in thirds, melodic passages and hellish solos. The whole thing is tied together by a strong, reliable rhythm section, carried by Primož Lovšin’s colorful bass, which with its galloping lines and loud rattle acts as the glue binding everything else into one solid, unbreakable whole, and by Jurij Nograšek’s effective, dynamic drumming. SkyEye also have a unique feel for songwriting, with enough maturity to understand that it’s not all about speed. They really let loose only in the title track, while the other three are a bit more atmospheric, with more twists, speed-ups and slowdowns and gorgeous instrumental interplay (Stardust). If in the faster parts SkyEye bring Iron Maiden to mind, we can stay with the same comparisons; in the calmer ones it’s not hard to draw parallels with Bruce Dickinson’s solo work, especially the duo of Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding.
Watching over all of it is the superb, authoritative voice of Jan Leščanec, who effortlessly matches the EP’s outstanding instrumental side. Thanks to its power, conviction and charisma, Jan’s voice recalls the aforementioned vocal heavyweight Dickinson, while from, well, the balls, he often pulls out inhuman screams (the goosebump-inducing finish of Fire) that remind you of Tim »Ripper« Owens. At the same time, Jan carries the interesting lyrics over into the music very faithfully, and Run For Your Life especially deserves praise for looking far back into our past and the settling of the Slavic tribes on the territory of today’s Slovenia.
You could say Run For Your Life wears its influences on its sleeve a bit too obviously in places, but it all sounds so fresh and convincing that the criticism hardly sticks, and SkyEye don’t hide who they learned their craft from – judging by what we hear, they were very diligent students. SkyEye’s debut is something the Slovenian scene has been missing ever since the premature end of Dawn Patrol, and honestly the only flaw I can find in Run For Your Life is that twenty minutes simply fly by way too fast. Luckily, the guys are already busy preparing a full-length debut and, as SkyEye themselves sing in one of the verses – »The stage is set…«
You can see for yourself whether these words hold up live on March 15, 2018 at Orto Bar.
Lineup
Jan Leščanec – vocals
Marko Kavčnik – guitar
Grega Stalowsky – guitar
Primož Lovšin – bass
Jurij Nograšek – drums
Production
Grega Smola Crnkovič
Track list
1. Intro
2. Fire
3. Book of Life
4. Run For Your Life
5. Stardust
