Band: Sky Eats Airplane
Album: Sky Eats Airplane
Genre: Rock
Label: Equal Vision

Tracks:
1. Introduction
2. Long Walks on Short Bridges
3. Transparent
4. Numbers
5. World Between Us
6. Photographic Memory
7. In Retrospect
8. The Artificial
9. Disconnected
10. Machines
11. Alias

Have you seen “Two guys, some instruments, and a synth?” No, this isn’t the latest infamous internet video, but rather how Sky Eats Airplane came out with their first CD, Everything Perfect on the Wrong Day. Founding members Brack Cantrell and Lee Duck made quite an impression even with their rough production of a metalcore-electronic mash-up of music. Half HXC’ed style, half PlayRadioPlay! feel-goodness, Sky Eats Airplane returns in 2008 with an actual band, although without Cantrell from the original Brack n’ Duck brainchild. The result, the self titled Sky Eats Airplane, is invigorating, crazy nonsense, and well, synth-tastic, if you don’t mind me saying so.

Expect frequent and unexpected turns in the music. Right off the bat, the intro track opens things up with an erratic industrial sounding opening, which transitions to the “Long Walks on Short Bridges,” which launches into an angry Norma Jean style metal. However, the angry screaming gives way to one of vocalist Jerry Roush’s chorusy singing parts, with the backdrop consisting with the SEA staple of bouncy techno patterns and synth leads. The versatile Roush is a key addition for the album, as he is able to supply a better-than-average metal scream, and an almost dreamy sounding singing voice, which becomes a great hooking point and a constant theme throughout the album.

The balance between the metalcore and electronica is struck quite well. “World Between Us” starts fast and slows down to Roush’s soft pace, then continues to weave between SEA’s two characteristic styles. Sky Eats Airplane still waivers from the formula, like the singing against the metal guitars at the beginning of “Transparent.” Roush’s singing style and method reminds me a lot of Chad Ackerman of Destroy the Runner, for anyone who has heard the fantastic album I, Saints. For only being half metalcore, SEA guitarists Duck and Ordway put together some legit stuff, and actually come off progressive in some songs, like the aforementioned “Transparent.”

With all the weapons Sky Eats Airplane possess, the listener is spoiled with a wealth of goodies. Behold the solo and excellent guitarring at the end of “Numbers.” Check out the hush-hush slow-down near the end of “Photographic Memory,” set against the heavy pounding of the drums. Or maybe you need a slower pace in general, as the soft “In Retrospect” takes it easy lounge-chair style. One of the standouts of the album for sure is “The Artificial,” Roush and the band is especially catchy in this song, it’s my favorite for sure.

Sky Eats Airplane takes on an unpredictable anti-chorus/verse style, which blends a lot of their songs together, making it hard to pull out stand-outs, save perhaps “The Artificial” and “Long Walks on Short Bridges.” Also, gone are the techno-industrial interludes, only to be shoved away as outros for many songs onSky Eats Airplane. It’s all part of the transition to become more musical, and Sky Eats Airplane pulls that off fantastically, with a much more polished effort. It’s metal. It’s electronic and techno. It’s progressive. It’s freakin’ catchy at points. You’re bound to find something to like about this album..

*Written By: Jacob Kanclerz*
GRADE: 8.5/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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