ALBUM REVIEW: Skyblood – Skyblood

Having a diverse background can help or hinder an artist with a storied history like vocalist Mats Levan. Using his considerably diverse vocals to support the works of artists such CANDLEMASS, THERION, KRUX, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and AT VANCE has put him in good stead to finally release a record that builds on his experience helping other artists and one in which now supports the biggest artist he has to collaborate with, himself.

Opening track Skyblood Manifesto sets the musical landscape out before the listener. A percussive, piano driven instrumental that feels like the introduction to the musical vaudevillian landscape the listener is about to experience. It, in turn, floods into next track and latest single The Voice which begins with a screeching wind like effect before the vocals come in super high in the overall mix. Levan‘s distinctive vocal takes no time at all to establish itself on the record. Rock music in general gets a bad reputation from non-fans who feel its just vocalists screaming or shouting. It’s immediately positive that the vocals are so well produced and at the forefront, they don’t stay clean for long though as Levan takes the skies with his best impression of JUDAS PRIEST‘s metal God himself, Rob Halford.

Rounding out the first quarter of the record is the sublime The Not Forgotten with its haunting vocal hook “the not forgotten, its haunts you” coming across like a mix between the aforementioned Halford and a mid 2000s Marilyn Manson. Ending with a tubular bells style refrain rounds out the track to give it a glacial edge. Straight out of the traps comes Wake Up To The Truth with its jaunty David Bowie in Labyrinth pomp to it before a killer riff bulldozers it out of the way alongside the dictator spouting lyrics saying “I’ve got the power, the means to take control”. You can’t help but feel this is the first overtly reference to the real world we all live in and the leaders who dictate our every move. The protagonist of the song advising us that they have the power to envelope the land with a fire and virus. Levan at times on this track taking the listener through the story and vocally inflecting each and every character. The solo is straight out of the Zakk Wylde tab book and is all the better for it.

At this point in the record you can already feel that the passion and musicianship is already at a high level. One in which the craft of developing, creating and releasing a record is a passion project for the artist and artists involved. Across the nine tracks here most instruments have been played by Levan himself. Whether this is coming from a place of ego or a place of an artist content in their own skin time can only tell with further development.

The use of a symphony of instruments embellishes the album further with Once Invisible with its use of synths and piano. Both of these work well alongside the percussive back beat of the drums. One Eye For An Eye explodes with the lyric “It took a dream to wake me up, I must remember what I barely can recall”. Of the nine tracks here all but one of them is on or around the five minute mark. A sure fire understanding that the artist recognises when to push the envelope and at once have the ability to refrain from falling down a rabbit. The last track Le Venimeux taking the listener on a musical story across its ten minute running time, the use of synth, pan pipes and acoustics bring together the musical narrative and also its themes

An inward looking artist like Levan having been around the block in previous bands like THERION and the epic scope of CANDLEMASS finally gets to have the cake and eat it on an album that is at times diverse, enthralling and captivating.

Rating: 8/10

Skyblood is out now via Napalm Records.

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