The first real seeds for Skyliner are planted when Jake Becker meets The Ben while wandering about a local youth group in September 1999. In February, 2000 they decided to start a band. After years of jamming and refining their personal blend of thrash, power metal, traditional metal, and progressive tendencies as a two-man band, Skyliner plans to record a demo in 1993. Some sessions are booked at a local home studio for late February. In a hurry to get material released, and unhappy with the end result of the 2003 recording and growing communication gap with the studio, Skyliner starts to shop for big name studios to re-record the now named EP, 'Light Comes Out of Black' in April, 2004. The result sees the light of day in February, 2005.
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Line-up: Jake Becker - All Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards Benjamin James Brenner (The Ben) - Drums, Percussion, Keyboards Additional musician: Kyle Monster - Bass |
Skyliner had already been together for over 5 years, when they released their first demo. I knew about them for several years prior to the demo, because Jake is a regular poster at The Christian Metal Realm. He was also kind enough to send me this demo for reviewing purposes.
Describing their sound is probably the hardest task when it comes to this band. They have roots in as diverse styles as progressive rock and death metal. Mostly they play a blend of thrash metal and progressive metal. That means fast riffs and licks, but put together in rather long compositions with time changes and stylistic "freedom". The vocals are 99% clean, but some rougher parts, and even death vocals in parts of one of the tracks. Unfortunately it seems that this recording is done "live". That means that Jake had to sing and play guitar at the same time, leaving him unable to concentrate on either task most of the time. I also think that if they "cut & pasted" a little in the longer tracks, the flow of the songs would have been much better. Being that this is a demo, and a low budget one at that, there are quite a few flaws throughout the recording. The drum work is at times downright sloppy. I also find the guitar tone a bit monotonous, and tiresome when listening to the whole demo in one go. That was the negatives, so let's proceed to what these guys have going for them. They have created a style of heir own. They can write interesting tunes. They have plenty of potential, but may need more practice, and maybe a full band? I know that Skyliner are playing a lot of local gigs, and with experience comes growth. I believe that these guys will deliver in the future!Finally, I have to mention the nice artwork, done by none other than Rex Zachary.
SKYLINER (2009) INDEPENDENT (Demo)
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Line-up: Jake Becker - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals Ben Brenner - Drums, Percussion David Lee Redding - Bass Cody Lewis - Keyboards, Backing Vocals |
Has it really been 4 years since I received Skyliner's first demo? I must be getting older then.... During the long time in-between these demos, Jake and The Ben has recruited 2 new members. So now Skyliner appears a a full-blown band. Their second demo holds 3 brand new tracks.
The music is the same style as on the 1st demo. This is not music that can be pigeonholed into one specific subgenre or category. Rather, it is a melting pot of various styles of rock and metal. It's easy to hear that having a full band has helped Skyliner a lot. The sound is richer, and the overall feel is much more professional. However, this is still "just" a demo, and the mastering on the CD is so loud, it makes the bass rattle rather then rumble.
Of the 3 tracks presented, I like the opening "Symphony In Black" the most. This is a fast thrash-influenced number, that also shows songwriter Jake Becker's love for European power metal, ala Grave Digger and Running Wild. It has a very catchy chorus, and the riffs dare to be experimental. The solo part is phenomenal, with every instrument delivering jaw-dropping parts. "Vendetta" is the second song. It follows along the same path as the opener, but has a more accessible structure. Ending the demo is an eclectic number, named "Aria Of The Water". The opening half of the song is a slow ballad, but during the middle section the tempo picks up, and after the solo we're back in full thrash metal mode. Here Jake even delivers some song lines with a death metal grunt. This is also very well written song, but it took me the longest of the 3 to get into.
'Skyliner' is ten times as good as 'Light Comes Out Of Black'. The band has their very own unique style. So let's hope they can record a full-length album, with a more professional mix and editing job. I for one will buy whatever they come up with.
THE ALCHEMIST (2011) INDEPENDENT (Demo)
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Line-up: Jake Becker - Lead Vocals, Guitar Ben Brenner - Drums, Percussion Ashley Finn - Keyboards, Backing Vocals Additional musician: David Lee Redding - Bass |
Skyliner return with yet another independent release, 2 years after the last demo. This time they've replaced the keyboardist, adding a female member who also delivers back-up vocals. The bass player is the same as on the previous CD, but this time he's listed as an additional musician, rather than a part of the line-up.
Musically songwriter Jake Becker has honed his skills even further, resulting in the bands most professional effort yet. Skyliner have always delivered music that is all their own, but at the same time they wear their influences on their sleeves. And with 'The Alchemist' they have perfected their blend of progressive rock, power- and thrash metal. The title track is a goodie bag heralding such diverse influences as King Crimson and Grave Digger! The second track, called "Undying World" (my favorite here), is a more streamlined power metal song, with Jake delivering his strongest vocal effort yet. He has a voice reminiscent of Peavey Wagner (Rage), which suits the powerful music well. This track keeps growing with each spin, and as of writing this, I declare "Undying Wings" as the best song of it's genre, released in 2011!
This short EP leaves me wanting more, as it is easily the most solid material from Skyliner, so far. I really hope they can either score a record deal, or at least manage to releases a full album on their own. The metal audience needs to discover Skyliner!
Skyliner also appear on:
V/A - '
The Narrow Path: The CMR Compilation - Volume II'
