Album Review: Grey Skies Over Rapture

If you like your death metal laced with elements of thrash and razor sharp axes merged with unrelenting rhythms, the debut self-titled album Grey Skies Over Rapture is the release you’re looking for. It has a little bit of everything that makes the death metal genre great!

Opening track Robotics shifts impressively from powerful chord structures into awe inspiring riffing with top-notch harmonic counterpoint on the guitars. It’s a spine tingling way to start the album.

By the second song, Transcendence, audiences will already be fully amped. There’s a lot going on including a middle eight breakdown and excellent guitar solo that shouldn’t be missed.

Cinder heralds in a more old school four-on-the-floor feel. Many of the riffs are familiar; making them relatable, while an innovative arrangement and vocal delivery ensures that the song retains originality.

The slower starting and epic Scent of the Wicked is the epitome of monumental metal music. This first-rate composition is only outmatched by a perfect musical execution, making it the standout track.

Singer Richard Matthews runs the full gamut of metal vocal styles from atom splitting growls to earth shattering screams that will make your ears bleed. His delivery of evil lyrics through sinister whispers is particularly effective.

Lively double bass drums alongside a highly consistent bass guitar delivery form a massively formidable rhythm section in Tombs and Malevolent. There’s really not much scope for the Wellington five-piece band to become heavier than these two imposing tracks.

Tempo shifts between axes and drums in VII builds the tension nicely. Far from being a timing issue, these slight differences generally add to the song’s musicality. There’s no denying the technical prowess exhibited within this and closing track, The Pulse Alive. The more uplifting and personable lyrics in the latter are a good way to close out an outstanding album.

Jake Booth from Mordecai Records has captured a very real and live sound with this release. It’s not overly processed or edited into digital oblivion either, and is a more enjoyable listen for it.

Along with epic arrangements and otherworldly soundscapes Grey Skies Over Rapture is interspersed with fantastic guitar solos and unrelenting energy that’s on another level. Make sure you check it out today.