When the Skies are Grey

A Dying Planet

Progressive Metal guitarist and songwriter Jasun Tipton - known for his work in ZERO HOUR, […]
August 22, 2021
A Dying Planet - When the Skies are Grey album cover

Progressive Metal guitarist and songwriter Jasun Tipton - known for his work in ZERO HOUR, CYNTHESIS, and ABNOMAL THOUGHT PATTERS- arises with his newest musical entity A DYING PLANET. Unsurprisingly, there is one thing above all: searching, forward-looking and dramatically compelling Prog. The album contains six tracks. The title track leads off the album. It begins with some ominous tones, followed by some lead guitar work, with thick bass notes. The vocals are calm, and done with harmonies at times. It has a mid-tempo pace, with smooth and easy lines, reminding me of KARNIVOOL. Following the second chorus, there is a heavy breakdown. Again, the bass work here is quite compelling.

"Honouring your Name" begins with heavy, lumbering tones that give way to ethereal vocals that are quite charming. So far, the mid-tempo pacing of the album holds it back just a bit, but the compositions are enough to move it forward. The vocal work is especially solid. "Hope for Tomorrow" opens with easy listening tones. Though it's another slower moving song, the emotional qualities of the music open up your horizons to experience new things. It also has a strong longing quality to it...as if the world were ending, and you "keep holding on," as the singer repeats over and over, until you start really believing it.

"Embrace" is a near-fifteen-minute opus. It opens with a pleasing combination of dreamy vocals with thick and heavy instrumentation. As it moves forward, it gathers steam, seemingly losing itself here and there, but these little diversions tie so well with the overall sound that you forget you are listening to a 15-minute track. Try to follow along, as all the elements tie together in the end. This song in particular reminds me more of FATES WARNING. "Far from Home" begins with poignant tones that are about as delicate as you could hear, yet are so poignant that they weigh on you. Equal passages of heavy accents with clean and dreamy tones mar the song, but again, with very similar pacing as the other tracks. "A Father's Love" closes the album. This song features some more outstanding bass guitar work, along with some really nice lead guitar in the background. It's very powerful closing song.

Overall, this was an excellent album. Composer Tripton has a way with both soft and dreamy tones, as well as harder, more ardent ones. The juxtaposition of the two styles melds together in a synergy that is both alive and buried in your subconscious at the same time. It makes you feel as if you were stirring from a dream, not quite away, but in that semi-lucid state where everything seems sharper, and your emotions felt more deeply. When you do awake, you are in a pool of sweat, wondering if it was all real or not. The only knock on the album was the similar pacing from track to track. Too many mellow tones can wash away the accents.

8 / 10

Excellent

Songwriting

8

Musicianship

9

Memorability

8

Production

8
When clicked, this video is loaded from YouTube servers. See our privacy policy for details.
"When the Skies are Grey" Track-listing:

1. When the Skies are Grey
2. Honoring your Name
3. Hope for Tomorrow
4. Embrace
5. Far from Home
6. A Father's Love

A Dying Planet Lineup:

Jasun Tripton - Guitars
Troy Tripton - Guitars
Paul Adrian Villarreal - Vocals
Marco Bicca - Drums

linkcrossmenucross-circle linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram