adg211288 Some artists really put the pressure on themselves when it comes to delivering a second album, having made a really good one the first time around. This is exactly the situation that US power metal act Skyliner find themselves in with their second full-length, Condition Black (2016). Their debut Outsiders (2014) was an absolutely stunning release, the then four-piece band blowing me away by producing not only a work of high quality but also one that offered up a sound of its own, a major accomplishment for a power metal band. Since it's release Skyliner has had some line-up changes in its ranks starting with a bassist swap from David Lee Redding to Nathaniel Curtis. More notably though they've cut their line-up down to a trio due to the exit of keyboardist Ashley Flynn who hasn't been replaced.

You know that saying about not missing something until after its gone? Well that's exactly the feeling I have about the keyboards in Skyliner's music. They were such an unassuming presence on Outsiders so it's surprising just how much their absence has affected the tone of their music. Other elements of the band's sound are familiar such as frontman Jake Becker's guitar and voice (though he does turn to growls a little more often on this one), but the lack of keyboards makes the whole thing come across as grittier and stripped back, though it still stands out even within the USPM scene. I expect some listeners may like that but for my part I do miss the extra layer the keyboards added. They weren't used in a typical way going by the usual power metal standards and my impression is that Condition Black is just that bit less unique due to their loss.

That may go some way to explain why Condition Black has felt so underwhelming during my early listens to it, due to already being familiar with Outsiders. It actually feels as if out of their two albums Condition Black ought to be the debut and Outsiders the follow-up, not the other way around. If they had come that way Outsiders would have seemed like a great expansion on what was started on Condition Black, but having come first it makes Condition Black seem much lesser than it actually is. Because it is a decent follow-up, though more of a grower than Outsiders, which even now I do think displayed a bit more energy than Skyliner are mustering up here. Some songs like the early title track Condition Black and No World Order prove themselves early highlights, but others such as Cages We Create and As Above, So Below (Those Who From Heaven to Earth Came) didn't click for several spins. In fact that latter has always stood out more due to how similar it's opening riff is to Foo Fighter's 2002 hit All My Life. It's not the same tone, but the rhythm is there, to the point that I expect Dave Grohl to start singing the opening line at any moment.

Jake Becker's guitar work is again pretty damn good, still with instances where it sounds like Skyliner wants to make technical power metal a thing, and his voice fits the tone of the material well. I know that some listeners of Outsiders singled out his voice as a weak link in the band but I never agreed with that opinion. Not on the debut or on Condition Black either. Stick a very melodic Euro style power metal vocalist on this album and it definitely wouldn't work and I'm not convinced a typical high register USPM singer would either. But Jake Becker's clean yet edgy vocals do. I'm less sold on his use of growling. He is a decent growler, deep and powerful in his delivery and in all fairness does sound as if he could carry a death metal record without problem, but well, this is a power metal record, so the growls do feel unnecessary. Fortunately he mostly uses them in quick bursts so they don't dominate the music too much, the exception being The Morbid Architect (That Prison of Veils) which is the most growl heavy track I've heard from Skyliner so far. It's pretty much a semi-technical death metal track rather than a power metal track.

When all is said and done once it's had the time to fully open up Condition Black is a solid second release from Skyliner. A step down from the debut perhaps and there are definitely some aspects that I wish Skyliner hadn't dropped, but overall I do find it satisfying. I'd even go so far as to call it a power metal highlight of 2016 as I haven't come across many standouts yet apart from Eternity's End. It's just not the gem I was hoping for.

adg211288 Outsiders (2014) is the debut full-length album by US progressive power metal act Skyliner. The band has actually been formed since 2000 so it's been a long road for them to get to the stage they're at now. They've released a few minor releases along the way, the most recent of which was The Alchemist (2011), a two track EP. Some of their older songs are also present on Outsiders, including the whole EP.

Although Skyliner describe themselves as heavy/power metal (with a progressive mind's eye at the centre) the music on Outsiders has much more to do with power metal than it does heavy metal, although those elements are certainly still semi-prominent, and I feel that their branding downplays just how progressive their music actually is. The power metal elements draw on both the USPM and European melodic styles. They're a generally riff-driven act and comparisons to the more hard edged Euro style power metal acts, particularly some of the German ones, wouldn't be inaccurate. The band has a keyboardist, Ashley Flynn (who has since parted ways with the group), but her contributions never overpower the riff-driven power metal sections, instead being used for progressive effect, which includes some calm atmospheric sections in the music, as in Aria of the Waters. The presence of any keyboards however gives Skyliner something markedly different from both USPM and those German acts.

Outsiders is a lot more complex than a typical power metal release. I'd go as far to call at least parts of the album technical power metal. That's not a term you hear put about very often, if at all, the way technical death or technical thrash are, but Skyliner certainly have their moments where such a term pops into my head. The bass by David Lee Redding (who has also since parted with the band and been replaced by Nathaniel Curtis) is a key element of the sound, often taking a prominent role in the music, which includes some bass soloing. The opening of The Human Residue is a good example of the bass's role on the album. Jake Becker's guitar riffs can also lean towards complexity when he's not playing the fast paced power metal riffs and sometimes even those don't stop him breaking away from the typical percussive power metal rhythms, as in Forever Young, which is also one of the catchiest songs on the album - Skyliner generally aren't writing the catchiest power metal tracks here, but this one certainly is infectious.

Jake Becker's vocals mostly vary between melodic and slightly aggressive clean singing, but growls also featured a few times, such as during Aria of the Waters and Worlds of Conflict. Growls aren't used so much though that Outsiders could be considered to have death metal elements, but they're certainly deep and powerful enough that if Skyliner ever wanted to experiment with more extreme metal elements they'd certainly be capable of pulling it off.

The opening track Signals aside (as it's pretty much an intro leading up to Symphony in Black, although it does have vocals), Skyliner's music tends towards a reasonably lengthy track with the average running time around the seven minute mark. The other notable exception would be the album's final track Worlds of Conflict, which lasts a whopping 21:01 so certainly covers the requirement for a prog epic. It's easily one of the album's best tracks, and a great way to round it all off too, featuring all the elements that had made Outsiders great up until that point.

It's a very strong debut album overall, and it's very impressive to hear so much distinction between the different tracks; aggressive, catchy, atmospheric, technical, and progressive are all moods that Skyliner's brand of power metal captures. The musicianship level is high in the Skyliner camp, whose line-up on Outsiders is completed by drummer Ben Brenner, the only member apart from frontman Jake Becker to still be with the band at the time of release.

Outsiders is easily one of the more unique sounding progressive power metal albums I've come across; an absolute gem of a release that if there's any justice should make Skyliner one of the major breakthrough acts of 2014. Something in the high end of the 4.5 stars rating area is easily justified.

94/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/skyliner-outsiders-t3360.html)