Please listen to “End of My Rope.”
There’s a lot to love within those 7 minutes if you count yourself a fan of progressive (death-ish) metal that emphasizes a dark angle: The quiet, casual intro that slowly crescendos into raw riffing and requisite layered barking; the beautifully doomy-gloomy measure in the mid-section that flashes a wonderfully eerie John Carpenter-styled keyboard flourish; and the overall attention placed on painting every corner of the tune with exquisite, fluid detail. Elements such as these – and their proficient execution throughout the entirety of The Many Sides of Truth – are what make a band like New York’s fairly unsung Grey Skies Fallen a prime candidate for an “undiscovered gem of the month” award.
But the crushing and tragic manner in which “End of My Rope” closes out during its final two minutes is what makes me damn-near pissed about never being exposed to this band’s music before this record. Those clean vocals are majestic and ridiculously engaging, in an ICS Vortex kind of way; the lofty atmosphere whipped up by those layered keys drifts perfectly alongside the song’s blanketing doomy mood; and the pretty little lead that strikes around 6:30 delivers the final knife-blow when paired with the dismal acoustic outro of “Winter Hand.” That’s some dirty pool, fellers. I love you for it, but that shit’s dangerously grim if your mood is already in the gutter going in the door.
The remainder of the fare found on The Many Sides of Truth is equally as adventurous and rewarding, so I can’t help but wonder just how in the Hell this band has managed to exist for over fifteen years (three other full-lengths and two EPs) without landing some sort of relatively major label recognition. SOME sort of recognition – ‘zines, labels, heavy social media nods, etc. Have I just missed the boat entirely? Why aren’t fans of Insomnium and bands of their ilk screaming at the top of their lungs about these guys? Grey Skies Fallen flash a similar emotion/disposition, but they push the genre into a fresh terrain that melds notes of doom, death, black and prog without ever overstating any one branch, and they do it with an additional priority placed on beautifying the entire shootin’ match with lengthy stretches of moody mellowness.
If you’re a fan of dark, progressive extreme metal and like the idea of supporting a talented, under-the-radar band working to further their foothold in a realm that’s corrupt with competition, jumping on The Many Sides of Truth will be one of the smartest choices you’ll make this month. And furthering the band’s kingliness is the fact that they’re currently offering their entire back catalog on the Grey Skies Fallen website for the extremely attractive price of zero dollars and zero cents. So check out the old stuff, buy the new stuff, and get your damn gloom on.
