Black Sky Research — One — EP Review
Nu Metal | Rock
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Earlier this year, a mate of mine suggested to me that I listened to a track they had discovered. The track in question would be none other than the debut single release from Black Sky Research.
Titled “Light up the Sky”, this debut track presented an epic and emotive sense of heaviness, that additionally felt quite nostalgic. Overall, it was a track that I enjoyed quite considerably.
My aforementioned friend went on to explain that Black Sky Research, who formed in 2019, includes the vocalist, and former member of Mallory Knox, Mikey Chapman. And while Mallory Knox was a band I mostly remember for the one live performance at Reading Festival I caught, it still felt like enough to deepen my interest in this new band.
Nevertheless, Black Sky Research still kind of slipped under my radar for the remainder of 2020, right up til the point in which it caught my attention that the band had released their debut EP One, just in time before the year comes to a close.
That being said, I saw this as a good opportunity to get another sense of what this band were about, and felt that it certainly seemed review-worthy after the initial skim-through I conducted.
In a structural sense, One is a perfectly typical EP. It carries five tracks within its near 20 minute runtime. Out of those 5, three of them are brand new, while the other two had teased the arrival of One previously. While the former of these two teasers was the aforementioned “Light up the Sky”, the latter, “Transmit”, was one that I had somehow missed. That being said, my personal experience going into this EP, was that there were four brand new listens, led by a very solid first teaser.
The sense of nostalgia that I felt from “Light up the Sky” is definitely carried through on the remainder of the EP. However, each track feels nostalgic in it’s own unique way. For example, while “Light up the Sky” carries a dark and foreboding nature that you would expect from the more melodic Nu-metal bands of the late 90s/early 2000s, the likes of “Transmit” feels more upbeat and motivating, and had very glaring shades of Faith No More in its composition.
I could almost sense that the tracks, intentionally or otherwise, were put in some kind of order from most foreboding to most uplifting. The final track “Dawn”, which in regards to the title ties in to the tracks “Midnight” and “Twilight”, feels like a perfect example of an early-in-the-year motivator, which has arrived perhaps a bit too promptly.
And while we’re on the subject of “Midnight” and “Twilight”, the former was unfortunately the only track to slightly take me out of the moment of the EP. “Twilight” on the other hand, flows incredibly, and fits really well with the submariner aesthetic that the cover art suggests.
The energy that this under 20 minute experience brings to the table is stunningly good, considering that this is a debut EP we’re talking about. However, the previous musical experience that is contributed to Black Sky Research definitely shines through, with an EP that is expertly made, and is jam-packed with nostalgic and epic atmosphere.
Favourite Tracks: Light up the Sky | Twilight | Transmit
Least Favourite Track: Midnight
2AR Music
