I can’t remember a band that has climbed into the ranks of the more prominent names in the Slovenian metal scene as fast as Ljubljana heavy metallers SkyEye. Last November they crowned their journey so far, which began with the EP Run For Your Life (2017), with their full-length studio debut Digital God. It was one of the most eagerly awaited releases on the scene, as confirmed by their loyal and fast-growing fan base, which keeps the band’s gigs reliably well attended. Let’s hope it stays that way.
On their studio debut, SkyEye go for a seriously timely theme: the album cover shows humanity almost completely subservient to a digital god. Still, there’s a glimmer of hope that people can break free of their digital chains and once again follow the beat of their own hearts. SkyEye toy with this theme throughout the whole album, deftly weaving parables about modern man’s enslavement to technology into lyrics about Slavic hordes, religion and natural disasters (where that can lead is nicely illustrated by Brooker’s brilliant Black Mirror).
On the debut, the digital god reveals himself to humanity with the same intro as on the EP, then drags us into an hour-plus struggle between humanity and technology, or rather its own tendency to let banalities like social networks run people’s lives. Like I said, the red thread runs through Digital God the whole way, but this is by no means a concept album. It’s twelve separate tracks, tied together by a brilliant performance from a five-piece that just oozes a burning desire to show itself in the best possible light. SkyEye pull that off, for the most part, without any major trouble.
Roughly speaking, Digital God is made up of two halves, split by an instrumental in the middle, the atmospheric Secrets of the Damned. The first half of the album is stuffed with “radio” hits, i.e. four-to-five-minute heavy metal marches with a strong, dominant Iron Maiden influence that is omnipresent on Digital God. Then Secrets of the Damned tips the album into the second, more serious and more ambitious half, whose crown jewels are the ten-minute epics Tsunami and Galactic Wind. Sure, the heavy metal giants Iron Maiden are an obvious role model for the band, but not an excessive one. SkyEye have indeed “borrowed” some galloping moments from the genre’s forefathers (by far the most obvious, but excellent, tribute is the crushing Run For Your Life), plus catchy, epic choruses, the way the guitar chords are built up, and that goosebump-raising atmosphere, but that’s nothing more than influence. SkyEye also know how to pay their respects to Judas Priest, Dio, solo Dickinson and the like, but they’re more than distinctive enough that you can’t really accuse them of leaning too heavily on their heroes. They manage this above all with the more aggressive, almost thrashy moments, which push them among the best representatives of modern heavy metal.
The first credit here goes to the band’s top-notch performance, both instrumental and vocal. On the latter, the exceptional Jan Leščanec simply shines. The timbre of his voice does remind you of Bruce Dickinson, but Jan has no trouble carving out his own space, whether with sky-splitting screams (In the Name of SkyEye) or with calmer, more introverted, quieter moments (Tsunami, Galactic Wind). The guitar duo of Marko Kavčnik and Grega Stalowsky is quickly becoming one of the most reliable guitar pairings on the local stages, and on Digital God they deliver mostly melodic riffing and a colorful palette of skillfully and tastefully constructed guitar solos. The solid foundation comes from the dependable rhythm section of Primož Lovšin (finally a bass that sounds properly beefy again since Gonoba!) and Jurij Nograšek, a tried-and-tested duo whose dynamism gives the whole structure fullness and strength, so the rest can shine at its best. Thanks to the warm, rich sound, it really does glitter like stardust.
Honestly, the only thing that slightly mars the whole is the album’s length. It runs well past the sixty-minute mark, which makes it quite a mouthful to get through, so next time it’s worth paying a bit more attention to “trimming the fat”. Still, with the trio of Jerusalem, Tsunami and Galactic Wind, SkyEye prove that despite their relative youth they can write ten-minute tracks that actually hold together, and that with their debut they’ve already set the bar devilishly high. The perfect ending of Galactic Wind, with its acoustic outro, shows they’re masters of their craft, tying the album together as a whole and closing the epic journey in a superb way. I certainly hope SkyEye aren’t “running out of time” just yet, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I conclude that Digital God is Slovenia’s answer to Chemical Wedding.
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Fire
3. Digital God
4. In the Name of Skyeye
5. Run For Your Life
6. Secrets of the Damned
7. Jerusalem
8. Confess Your Sins
9. Book of Life
10. Tsunami
11. Stardust
12. Galactic Wind
Lineup:
Jan Leščanec – vocals
Grega Stalowsky – guitar
Marko Kavčnik – guitar
Primož Lovšin – bass
Jurij Nograšek – drums
