From the capital of New Zealand comes Grey Skies over Rapture, here to bring their newest installment of progressive death metal. "Kings" is my way to kick-start the progfest of New Music Friday, and this EP, with only three songs and not a single YouTube video (yet), this EP is quite an elusive selection on my end. Grey Skies has been lurking where the New Zealand streetlights shine dim, and since 2013, they've hidden pretty damn well, with under ten monthly listeners on average and minimal following on Bandcamp. I'll gladly add myself to their fanbase, but not just for fun.

"Kings" proves that an EP can traverse a plethora of emotions and senses, even if the trio of tracks only takes up twelve minutes of your day. "Lunacy," the opener and longest song, isn't as lighthearted as the following songs, but I get to plunge my thumb into Grey Skies' pie. The pie's crust, although fuzzily mixed, acts as a nice base for the slightly progressive instrumentation. I'd argue the band leans further into melodic death metal, but "Lunacy" is busy enough to cross genres. The song mutates from darker, dirtier grooves to a more uplifting sound featuring whispered vocals and soaring guitar wankery. The uplifting feeling is to be expanded upon in the tracks to come, but I definitely enjoyed the group's moodier moments. Continuing the aforementioned positivity, the melancholic guitars in the title track, "Kings," remind me of my long-gone infatuation with post-rock; the tremolo picking, the atmosphere, the simultaneous sense of dread and hope, everything. The reflective lyrical content further elevated the instrumentation for me, resulting in a nice, digestible song.  Maybe the music elevated the lyrics. SOMETHING elevated SOMETHING, and I'm happy. "Immortalized (Kings)" could definitely be a continuation of the previous song. Another dosage of melodic metal, this track is.

I like the ideas Grey Skies over Rapture has rattling around in its five brains. Sadly, hindrances do limit the greatness of "Kings." The mixing, courtesy of NEKKO MIX, leaves much to be desired in terms of clarity. Most guitars are muddled together, including the bass, and the only time I can pick them out is in a guitar solo. Richard Matthew's gutturals are fine, but stale when listened to for great lengths. This EP isn't a great enough length for the staleness to take effect, so the vocals are safe. Lastly, I was a victim of mislabeling, as the band directly cites itself as a melodic death metal band. Are they prog? I'll let them answer that. I quite liked "Kings." I'll be monitoring their following in the near future, as way more than ten people should take a listen.