Style: Instrumental
Review by: Sam
Country: Australia
Release date: 05-01-2019
NOTE: This album was originally included in the January 2019 issue of The Progressive Subway
A while back for the June edition of this blog I mentioned in a review how I came across this totally-not-biased 95% score guest musician review on metal-archives on the band I was reviewing. That band was called Thousand Sun Sky, and this is their second album. Or rather, her second album as this band is a solo project by Eva Sanchez. This will be the first time ever I’ve reviewed the same band twice on this blog. Last review was on the template of the videos about competitive Pokemon from False Swipe Gaming, and this one will be too. So now again, we ask ourselves: How GOOD was Thousand Sun Sky – The Aurora Complex ACTUALLY?
Her album was a solid slab of instrumental symphonic progressive metal, and with The Aurora Complex Eva continues down this path. What we have here is a mixture of solid metal riffs, great shredding and different electronic and symphonic elements in the atmosphere. Eva really did an amazing job programming the synths. There is piano playing, trance music styled soundscapes, video game sounds and some lovely lead melodies. Speaking of video game music, this would be excellent OST for a fantasy or a sci fi game. I could easily see myself playing a Final Fantasy boss battle to this. I’d also again like to highlight her soloing ability, as it stays captivating the whole time. She brings the shred, but also slows it down when needed and utilizes a plethora of different styles I couldn’t tell you the name of because I don’t play guitar. All I know is that it works.
What’s the most important factor which makes this album enjoyable though is her compositional ability. Most instrumental metal bores me immensely, but TSS is always a joy to listen to. The songs are eventful and switch things up plenty. Not once does this feel like a guitar wank-fest, which is exactly what plagues instrumetal acts so often. The melodies on this album are absolute ear candy.
However, this album is not without its flaws. The programmed drums don’t sound as ear-crushing anymore as on the debut, but they’re still very, very far from being good. The snare is a bit better than last time, but still definitely nothing to write home about; and the kick drums just sound awful. Not to mention the awful cymbal sounds. Hiring a drummer would definitely be something to look out for next album. What I’m also missing on this record is a bit more rhythmic variation. It mostly just stays in 4/4, making it a bit flat. I’d love some crazy proggy odd-time signature shenanigans in this. Also here having an actual drummer could help immensely. Then lastly, my final complaint about this album is in its length. It’s 3 minutes shorter than the debut, but even then it feels like this goes on a good 10 minutes too long.
So, to come back to a conclusion: How GOOD was Thousand Sun Sky – The Aurora ComplexACTUALLY? It was… pretty solid. While it has some rough programmed drums and definitely goes on longer than it should, the melodies, excellent symphonic elements and great guitar playing more than make up for it. I doubt this will reach anyone’s album of the year list, as it mostly plays like background music, but it’s very good background music nonetheless. Definitely worth spinning a couple of times.
Recommended tracks: Hollow, Aurora, Pt. I-III
Recommended for fans of: video game OST, background music
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Thousand Sun Sky is:
– Eva Sanchez (all instruments)
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