Countless Skies – Solace – Single Review

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One of the UK’s most revered Melodic Death Metal bands return and its immediately apparent that Countless Skies are blossoming into extremely accomplished songwriters.

From the short acoustic strum and piano led intro to the mid-tempo deathly grandeur Insomnium deliver so well, Countless Skies could quite easily rest on their laurels and deliver a more than satisfying fairly generic Melodic Death Metal track without adding the incredibly diverse tempos and atmospherics that follow.

Breaking free of genre trappings, an almost operatic mid-section – with impressive Ihsahn-inspired clean vocals – flows seamlessly into a whispered, acoustic section which brings to mind the haunting tranquility of early Opeth; hushed tones and mellotron soaked atmosphere elevating the track further before coming full circle and re-introducing soaring leads and guttural growls to bring “Solace” to a highly satisfying – yet relatively abrupt – close.

“Solace” seems an appropriate title, for Countless Skies are currently in a league of their own. The UK’s Melodic Death Metal scene is in their safe hands and while their self-titled EP was just as epic, “Solace” is majestic and admirably ups the ante even further. 9/10

Incredible song-writing from a band who continue to impress with each release, you can catch Countless Skies at Bloodstock (on the New Blood stage, Friday 7th August) this year!