Reviews

Blue Skies Bring Tears - Blue Skies Bring Tears
By: Robert Ryttman – 2007–01–09

Genre: Melodic depressive metal
Label: -
Released: 2007

- ť The grieving atmosphere's knights cry out for a fourth time Ť -

If you want music to my like a smack in the face you can forget about this band. Blue Skies Bring Tears is more like a somber and considerate caress on the cheek, like putting your hungover head in someone's lap and exhaling the angst of a hectic party weekend. Things progress at a slow pace for the guys, the music floats and pulses. One can quickly notice that Blue Skies Bring Tears haven't become any happier than before. They're still sitting at the pier dangling their feet while life goes buy around them. The sadness and melancholy seems to be the driving force rather than aggressions and suicide attempts. The band's music is built mainly on atmosphere and emotion. It's not really that much hard rock, even if the guitars fatten up at times. On the other hand this music is quite difficult to categorize. It's just there, filling the void in the head with it's melodic warmth, it's a very pleasant experience to listen to Blue Skies Bring Tears. Admitably the music requires a lot of time and not being too restless. Other than that the pianoplaying feels perfect and the guitarplaying, which on the previous demo could become a tad boring, has evolved remarkably. As last time the group has put a lot of energy on a nice cover and if it weren't for the production one could easily mistake this demo for a real album. It would be interesting to hear a professional recording of this band. Until next time maybe they are signed... *fingers crossed*

Graded: 7/10

Orignal URL: MetalHeart.se

Blue Skies Bring Tears - Blue Skies Bring Tears
By: Robert Ryttman – 2006–04–08

Genre: Melodic depressive metal
Label: -
Released: 2006

ť Very promising melancholy from blue skies Ť

It's somber, melancholic and atmospheric music this band deals with. In seven quite lengthy tracks (none under five minutes and the longest a whopping nine) things progress slow and calm, as if the guys have been sitting by the bay in Västervik and studied the ripples of the sea for years, before turning the impressions into music.
The cover for the CD is wellmade, simple and stylish, which is nice and fitting as a design for the music. It's also extra inviting to, as reviewer, receive a demo that has been packaged in this serious manner. However, as always, it's the music that matters. I'll be totally honest; to enjoy this creation one needs to either be a bit low and melancholic before turning on this CD. If so, it will be a nice companion, like a pillow to hug in the loneliness of the night. Alternativly; that one listens very carefully to this melancholy Blue skies bring tears convey in their music and becomes one with it.

The band have in other words managed extremely well with the emotional part. I don't, however, feel the demo is without it's faults. Almost one hour of this peaceful, slow and almost brittle music makes, at least me, feel a tad bit restless every now and then. One or two uptempo tracks, of course with the same atmosphere, would have been a nice varition.

I would also have enjoyed hearing more of Niklas Ottosson's keyboards and less of the rhythmguitars sometimes monotone studdering, but this feels less important.
I have no idea whether Blue skies bring tears have made demos before or if this is their first, but one thing is certain; this is a very nice and wellmade acquintance.

Graded: 7/10

Orignal URL: MetalHeart.se

Blue Skies Bring Tears - Blue Skies Bring Tears

A very cool band. I know you've had a look at the cover and you have an intuition of what it is; melodic gothic metal. It's a relatively new band, which goes in a soft, secure direction, accesible to a pretty vaste kind of public. There is no growling (as Crematory or Moonspell), but we have lots of keyboards, good dose of guitar and lots of voice (a little bit in the new style of Anathema, Paradise Lost). The album is good, even tho the sound isn't crystal (but alright for a first CD). I sincerely appreciate their effort and I hope they get far.

Best track: "Pain"

8.5/10

by Titus Constantinescu. (Balamuc Zine no. 2)

Translation by Mirela Dimitriu

Review from Ultimatemetal.com

First impressions, regardless of how accurate they turn out to be, are often the ones that last. In the case of promo copies of albums, they also can play a key role mentally preparing the reviewer for what he or she is about to hear. It's fair to say that this quartet had me intrigued at first glance. A name taken from a Smashing Pumpkins song, a band photo that showed each member sporting a markedly different look (August could be the drummer for any given hardcore band, to look at, whilst Niklas gives off a distinct frontman-for-Dark Tranquillity vibe). I didn't really know what I was in for - I was hoping for some eclective, progressive cross-blend of styles, as enigmatic as the packaging. What I got was down-tempo, morose, melancholic goth rock, tinged by Eternity-era Anathema, with a singer that sounded like a bored Ville Valo, songs that trudge along like some wounded animal slinking off to a quiet corner to die, and a general vibe of depression. Which, I think, is what the band was going for. However, the other overwhelming emotion I got from these tracks was, presumably, not one that was intended by the group - utter boredom. See, there's very little variation on offer. While the production is pretty impressive for a self-released effort (icy synths add a glassy, ethereal atmosphere to the peripheries of the soundscapes, and the reverbed/clean guitar tones are crystal clear while the distorted tone is pretty crunchy and satisfying), the songwriting stays firmly within the downcast, slow-paced and miserable mode that it starts off in. The aggressive distorted guitars that are utilised periodically do little more than rhythmically chug along and occasionally let out a pinched harmonic (although the 3:50 mark of 'Obsessions' shows some more imaginative riffing). The singer never stops groaning in his Pete Steele meets Ville Valo wounded drawl. The highlight (if such a term is even appropriate for such a downer of an album) comes right at the end, with the appropriately-titled 'Anomaly' showing just a little more promise - it's no major departure from the rest of the tracks on offer, to be sure, but the addition of some Pink Floyd-esque lead guitars and an ever-so-slightly-more martial rhythm tease out some much-needed oomph. I'm open to the idea that perhaps this style of music just isn't for me, and that I've missed the point somewhere along the line - the band's website's URL is below, and they have a Myspace, so their particular blend of goth-rock-miserabilism is yours to sample - but my bottom line is going to say that this one is something of a snoozer.