Welcome to the Boolin Tunes Staff Spotlight, a special segment on the site in which we dive deep into a classic or simply personally beloved album to shine a light on releases that we feel deserve a second glance.
In 2012, Indian progressive metal band Skyharbor released their debut record Blinding White Noise. Lead by founder and guitarist Keshav Dhar, it also featured vocalist Daniel Tompkins of Tesseract as a session musician. Tompkins officially joined the band shortly after release, setting the stage for their sophomore album Guiding Lights:
You bring me to my knees
It’s over and I’m cold
In this fine allure
Keep it to yourself
The album opens with immediate standout “Allure”, a fast-paced and frenetic track displaying the band’s talents. Thought the lust-filled lyrics are nothing to write home about, their rapid-fire delivery demonstrates consistent command. Tompkins, as he does in Tesseract, helps to bring pop sensibilities seamlessly to a progressive metal setting. In this instance, however, the instrumentation sounds more prog than djent, with greater emphasis on complexity and texture. The rhythm section drives the song forward through an array of unique passages, a trend that continues throughout the album. Finally, Periphery‘s Mark Halcolmb arrives to deliver a guitar solo to seal this song’s position as difficult to top. Thankfully, plenty of competition follows – and shortly:
Let me burn
We are created by the energy
So if this is evolution and infinity possibility
Let me burn
This is evolution
Following this, the single “Evolution”, gets a running start to match in terms of energy and pace. It rises and falls with dazzling guitar leads above heavy, constant riffing. This song manages to act concurrently as a head-banger’s delight and something a classic prog fan can appreciate. The dynamics between segments consistently shine as one of Skyharbor‘s key strengths – moments of “is that the same track?” are rife throughout. Even so, transitions remain logical and followable, enticing the listener to the next section.
Why are you here?
It’s been a long journey
Like riding a train through a field of clouds
Are you weary?
The album peaks again with “Halogen”, which marks the album’s midpoint with an extended monologue. It impresses by evolving from a self-described “pop-prog” number to a guided trip through the cosmos. The song generally follows a more traditional structure during its first four minutes. However, the spoken word section acts as a much needed reprieve from what thus far has been a dense and loaded album.
Hidden by a shadow cast by the street lights
Black walls are closing in fast tonight
I’m abandoning all my thoughts and hiding here
By the firelight in a mother’s open arms
The title track serves as the high water mark for the album’s second half. Although originally developed as a transition, this track ended up being among the longest. Generally speaking, the back half takes a bit longer to develop and run through its ideas. With that being said, it uses the same tools that made the first half so compelling, just in more drawn-out form.
Unfortunately, Skyharbor lost both Tompkins and drummer Anup Sastry shortly after the album’s release. Accordingly, despite some competent music releasing afterwards, they have yet to recapture the magic of Guiding Lights. As a result, this album exists in a sort of bubble on its own. It’s a great leap from previous work without a true follow up. Tompkins has since done great work in Tesseract, but Guiding Lights truly stands alone as one of the decade’s strongest progressive metal releases.
Otherwise, we hope to see you again next week for another spotlight from the Boolin team.