UK-based melodic death metal band COUNTLESS SKIES – in partnership with Heavy Blog is Heavy – has premiered forthcoming album Glow. Stream it in its entirety below.
Glow (Album Premiere)
heavyblogisheavy.com/2020/11/02/exclusive-premiere-come-bask-in-countless-skies-glow/
Glow will be released November 6 on CD, vinyl, and digital formats via Willowtip Records.
Pre-order:
https://bit.ly/glow-willowtip
https://bit.ly/glow-bandcamp
| “This isn’t your typical melodeath band. Great stuff.” – MetalSucks “There are quite a few new(ish) melodic death metal bands that are leading the genre into the future, but I’m not sure if most of them are as adept as COUNTLESS SKIES. With Glow, they have discovered their sound and set themselves on an unstoppable path.” – Metal Temple (10/10) “It’s all you can do to sit back and soak up the emphatically stunning soundscape that is washing over you. An album that you simply must hear.” – PowerPlay Magazine (10/10) “They erupted onto the metal scene in 2014 with their self-titled EP. Glow is the follow-up to 2016’s full-length debut, New Dawn, and takes the band’s progressive brand of Melodeath metal to a new level. There has been a lot more creativity put into these masterpieces, the results are positive.” – Ever Metal (10/10) “The most heartbreaking and heroic epic melodic death metal sample of recent years. The result is hypertensive, hitting your nerves so hard that it makes you want to shake with excitement.” – RTMB Music (10/10) “It’s no surprise that Countless Skies are a great band, but this album should be the thing that turns them into superstars.” – Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life (10/10) “One of the most emotional, powerful masterworks I’ve ever heard.” – Breaking Necks Metal Blog (5/5) “There are precious few words that can summarize just how palpably captivating the music of Glow truly is. Glow will, without any shadow of a doubt, be appearing on Best of 2020 lists all over the world – including ours.” – Hated One Metal Reviews & Interviews (99/100) “Glow manages to impress with its moments of melodic bliss that capture the listener throughout each track. Countless Skies has really spent some time polishing this stuff and making sure to up the stakes with each player in the band. This is an absolute must if you enjoy melodic death metal or progressive music in any way.” – Dead Rhetoric (9.5/10) “Epic, aggressive, melancholic, brilliant!” – Powermetal.de (9/10) “A wonderful album and an asset to Melodic Death Metal!” – Hellfire Magazin (8.5/10) “Countless Skies are an interesting UK band who are blending a lot of sounds into their music. This is not a million miles removed from later-period Enslaved, though much more cleaned-up and almost glossy in places.” – The Metal Crypt (4/5) “There are moments where it is almost unbelievable this is a sophomore release, such is the level of maturity, diversity and quality of songwriting on display. Glow is a phenomenal record, and will undoubtedly be hitting many “album of the year” lists – mine included.” – V13 “It’s a virtual masterpiece in so many different ways, and if you don’t check it out then I am truly sorry for you.” – Head-Banger Reviews “Incredible and moving music.” – Heavy Blog is Heavy “A great comeback from the British with this second album! Countless Skies stands out more from its Scandinavian cronies, gradually forging its own identity, while preserving, even sublimating the emotion and intensity that we already found on New Dawn . The next generation seems assured, and melodic death metal definitely has a bright future ahead of it!” – Valkyries Webzine (8/10) “This is one of the best melodic death metal records of the last years. It has brilliant songwriting and atmosphere and it sounds great.” – Dutch Metal Maniac “From the brute riff to the goose bumps melody, Countless Skies offer everything your heart desires in a virtuoso way.” – Metal.de “Countless Skies continued to push themselves throughout the entire release. As the album progressed each track seemed to get better and better, yet when you look at the entire album you realize that the band did a stellar job writing an impressive tale from beginning to end.” – Rock and Metal Temple “Their music has a freshness that other melodic metal bands do not have. Interesting awakening from Countless Skies.” – Dargedik Rock Metal Webzine (8/10) “A good doom / melodeath album with a good dejected, intense, emotional atmosphere.” – Arrow Lords of Metal |
The follow-up to 2016’s full-length debut New Dawn, Glow takes the band’s progressive brand of melodeth to new heights with richly-layered instrumentation, superb musicianship and raw emotion. Thematically, Glow is based on the album’s epic title track, a 20-minute opus split into three parts.
The bulk of the album was recorded in the home studio of guitarist James Pratt. James had this to say about the process:
“It took a lot of learning and some expensive purchases, but it did have its upside. Not under the normal time constraints of being in a studio, we could take more risks, and get better performances from everyone. We also spent a lot of time adding more layers, harmonies, and even some extra instruments.”
Glow was mixed and mastered by Juho Räihä of SoundSpiral Audio.
COUNTLESS SKIES burst onto the metal scene with their self-titled EP in late 2014. Blending progressive and darkly intense music influenced by their Scandinavian melodeth heroes, the EP received acclaim worldwide and began a flood of shows up and down their native UK with multiple highlights including an invitation to Bloodstock Open Air 2015.
Building upon their rapid momentum, the band soon caught the attention of Kolony Records, a deal was signed and the band began work on their debut full length.
New Dawn was released June 2016 and was praised “as an effortless display of bravado and musicianship in ways that I can’t soundly describe,” by USA’s New Noise Magazine and an impressive debut from the UK’s Metal Hammer. “Countless Skies have what it takes to really blossom in to something original and beautiful… a band with great skill and even greater potential,” stated Zero Tolerance Magazine.
With applause the world over following the release of New Dawn, the band embarked on a UK tour with Finland’s ‘Whispered’. Several shorter tours followed including their first stints abroad, appearing at multiple European festivals such as Dark Troll Festival, Skaldenfest, and MetalDays.
Track Listing:
1 Tempest
2 Summit
3 Moon
4 Zephyr
5 Glow part 1
6 Glow part 2
7 Glow part 3
COUNTLESS SKIES is:
ROSS KING – Vocals and Guitars
JAMES PRATT – Guitars
PHIL ROMEO – Vocals and Bass
NATHAN ROBSHAW – Drums
Guests/Session Musicians:
Arianna Mahsayeh – Cello (Track 2 & 5)
Marcello Ciciriello – Piano (Track 1, 4 & 5)
Anthony Trimming – Choir (Track 2)
RJ Learmouth – Choir (Track 2)
Vicky Harley – Choir (Track 2)
Drums recorded by Forbes Coleman at AudiobeachStudios | audiobeachstudios.com
Choir recorded by Chris Stroud | chrisstroudbass.tumblr.com
Everything else recorded by James Pratt at CinnamonStudios | jamespratt.co.uk
Mixed and Mastered by Juho Räihä at SoundSpiralAudio | soundspiralaudio.com
Artwork by Carl Ellis | carlellistration.co.uk
All music and lyrics by Countless Skies | countlessskies.com
www.countlessskies.com www.facebook.com/CountlessSkies www.instagram.com/countless.skies twitter.com/countless_skies countlessskies.bandcamp.com