COUNTLESS SKIES

This is one of those albums that comes with some baggage. You know, it's good, but.... And the but here is massive, to the point where I don't think any listen goes by without me thinking about it a bit. It's derivative, almost insanely so. And it's not just derivative from one source - in fact I'd say there are no other bands that sound exactly like this album, and perhaps that's why it gets a pass from me, but it's made up of parts borrowed from a number of artists that are borderline plagiarism.

The big one is Insomnium. Not just the melancholic side of Insomnium, but the agressive side too. The harsh vocals are a dead ringer for pretty much every Insomnium song, and there are a handful of riffs that are absolutely textbook. The second is Opeth, more subtle at first, until the titular suite goes into overdrive. There's the main riff of Heir Apparent, the organ from Windowpane, the acoustic breaks, the structuring. It's all just so shameless, I'm amazed that they could do it with a straight face.

And then there's Devin Townsend. To be fair, having a clean voice that sounds like Devin isn't exactly something you'd want to hide, but if you had told me that it actually was Devin singing here, I would have believed you. It sounds exactly like him, right down to the melodies they use. It's both really cool and really unsettling at the same time.

There are some other allusions here - Wilderun at a couple of points come up to my ears, but the real takeaway is that there honestly isn't a second on this album that isn't seriously derivative from one band or another. Does that stop it being good? Hell no. In fact, getting Devin Townsend to do clean vocals is probably what Insomnium themselves need to get out of their rut. It truly is fascinating that music can be so shamelessly stolen and yet still be quite good. It makes listening to this album a bit strange though, but in the end, it's good music. Who cares if it's all borrowed.

6.9 (7th listen)

Because let's face it: Glow sounds like the bastard brother of Devin Townsend (Tempest, Summit, Moon), mixed with influences from Opeth (Glow - Part 1) and with pieces of Amorphis (some parts of Zephyr and Glow - Part 2) and some other bands.

However, and despite the wonderful compositional work behind all the songs of the album, I miss the authentic personality of this band beyond its influences. Maybe in their next work?

In any case, if you like the groups named above (especially Devin Townsend and Amorphis), you will surely enjoy this Glow!

Best Tracks: Tempest, Summit and Zephyr.

My Rating: ***