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Classic Rock Magazine (UK)
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"Established in 1995, The Skys are Lithuania's No.1 proggers. Colours... features a host of guest st..."Established in 1995, The Skys are Lithuania's No.1 proggers. Colours... features a host of guest stars including Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters' band) and Anne - Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn, Panic Room). Key to the band's appeal is the male - female vocal interplay, and a musical approach that's both expansive and ethnic. Nuostabus! (Lithuanian for 'amazing)"
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Get Ready to Rock (UK)
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The SKYS Colours Of The Desert (2011) Top progressive rock from Lithuania anyone? Eastern Europe see...The SKYS Colours Of The Desert (2011) Top progressive rock from Lithuania anyone? Eastern Europe seems to be spawning great bands at the rate of one a day at the moment and The Skys can certainly be added to this list. They're obviously well respected in the UK too as the guest list includes the likes of Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters), Snake Davis (Paul McCartney) and Anne-Marie Helder (Panic Room). Colours Of The Desert is the band's fourth album and, with a couple of caveats (see below), is a pretty damn fine album with good song structures, strong vocals and top-notch playing throughout. As usual with prog, you're looking for the influences all the time, but, the odd nod to 'Floyd and Yes apart, this is pretty much all their own work and has an edgy, contemporary freshness about it. Nine tracks on offer and, truth be told, there's not a duffer to be seen. Opener, the title track, 'Colours Of The Desert' incorporates middle-eastern influences and gives Dave Kilminster the space to rack up a great solo, but all the plaudits should be reserved for the album's signature track 'Walking Alone', a prog fan's dream with soaring keys and a Gilmouresque solo to die for. The only downside is an annoying, right-on, moralistic Christian slant on some of the lyrics especially on 'Calling Out Your Name'. I've long thought that there's no place for religion of any denomination in rock music and this does nothing to diminish that view. OK, it's not as in-your-face as Stryper and their ilk, but it is there and it makes me uncomfortable - music shouldn't do that. That said, this should not detract from what is a very good album. With a little more work in the lyrics department (which in addition to the God-bothering are also a tad clichéd at times) The Skys could be a real force in progressive rock. Only trouble is, with so many fine bands emerging, it's getting to be a rather crowded market place and being dubbed a 'Christian' band could well restrict their appeal. I hope not as their musicianship alone deserves a wide audience, but, without a lyrical volte-face, their next album could well be heading for the 'what might have been' section. **** ***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine | *** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan | ** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly Review by Alan Jones
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Sweden Rock Magazine
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07 Den progressiva kartan fylls allt mer; här kommer ett vackert ljudande, såväl glatt som dystert b...07 Den progressiva kartan fylls allt mer; här kommer ett vackert ljudande, såväl glatt som dystert band från Litauen. Min första parallell dras till Eloy, beroende på musikens mustigt atmosfäriska stämningar, men även tack vare Jonas ?iurlionis röst, mycket snarlik Frank Bornemanns. Längre fram hör jag den mystiskt betitlade ”I...he...” som i ett slag lyckas låta som både Ayreon och ”Discipline”-erans King Crimson. Men så blåser annat ljud i pipan, däribland ”When the western wind blows”, som liknar Pink Floyd. Det myckna bruket av kvinnostämma ger vinkar till ömsom Five Fifteen, ömsom Jefferson Airplane, och detta är nog första gången som jag hör influenser från gospel och Porcupine Tree på en och samma skiva. Med allt detta influensdroppande avklarat måste ändå Skys egna karaktär konstateras. Med gäster som Dave Kilminster (gitarrist hos Roger Waters, ex-Ken Hensley) samt keyboardisten John Young (Scorpions, Asia, Paul Rodgers) smids klanger som är Skys unika. Daniel Reichberg
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Fireworks (UK)
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The Skys is a truly classic progressive rock band from Lithuania. Formed in 1995, the band has now r...The Skys is a truly classic progressive rock band from Lithuania. Formed in 1995, the band has now released The Colours Of The Desert’ which is its fourth album to date. A dual male/female lead vocal arrangement makes for a unique sound and with a Moog analogue synth sound this band is of great interest to the prog purist. Adding to the multitude of instruments employed on this album, there are many guest musicians, notably Dave Kilmister (Asia, Roger Waters) and the saxophonist Snake Davis (Eurythmics, M-People). The first and title track is fantastic; a combination of a chanting vocal, an analogue and very Moog-ish synth solo and a blistering guitar solo from Kilmister rolled into a seven and a half minute epic full of tempo and key changes. Vocalist Bozena Buinicka comes into her own on the next track, ‘Is This The Way’, with an aggressive choral interchange with fellow lead vocalist, Jonas Ciurlionis. Common themes emerge during the following track ‘I…He…’; that is, a lavish underlying orchestral synth sound laying the foundation for quirky vocals and punchy instrumental breaks. The subsequent track, ‘Walking Alone’, warrants the epic tag; a nine minute and very Pink Floyd-esque track - vocals kicking in over three minutes from the start and multiple key signature changes. A majestic sax solo break from Snake Davis on ‘When The Western Wind Blows’ brings a new dimension to the album in this otherwise laidback track. The next track, ‘Calling Out Your Name’ has a much more commercial feel to it with a very accessible arrangement comprising a catchy solo and classic rock based guitar sound. As a counterpoint, the following brace of lengthy songs, ‘The Pyramid’ and ‘Lethal Kiss’ provide a very moody and introspective vibewhere unusual instrumental sounds and traditional folk rhythms are experimented with. Rather than ending on this intense note, the final track ‘What If?’, albeit very short, is tremendously upbeat with a more standard structure and a warm production along with Snake Davis yet again sending the song into the stratosphere. This is a very good album with a wide range of song styles displayed based around a progressive yet commercial sound. Best listened through a quality sound system to appreciate all of the album´s sonic landscape! Rob McKenzie
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Metalliville (UK)
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THE SKYS - Colours of The Desert (S/R - 2011) Lithuanian proggies Skys have witnessed a sporadic dis...THE SKYS - Colours of The Desert (S/R - 2011) Lithuanian proggies Skys have witnessed a sporadic discography with four albums spread almost evenly across fifteen years… obviously a case of Def Leppard disease getting about in the European metal scene. Sadly iti s difficult who to deicde is th best waiting five years for, then separate subgenres are unwisely compared. While holding on for the next Dream Theater record to surface, this one is a sure-bet treat. Of course the tunes aren’t promised to be short though three of the nine surprisingly od clock in at a standard tune duration. Seventies is the decade to swill around on your lips this time. Massive guitar lines in the true league of Clapton and Blackmore meet head first with female-alternated vocals , combusting an incendiary retrospective engine. Chugging fast through numbers up to nine and a half minutes long like they were over in four, these fellas do not mess with that many fancy elements as expected and delve into the simple pages of the prog rock cook book. Keeping it modern with gothic touch , there is little doubt that ‘Colours Of The Desert’, ‘Is This The Way’, ‘I.. He..’, ‘When The Western Wind Blows’, ‘Calling Out Your Name’ and ‘Lethal Kiss’ will see a combined and colossal following from over the spectrum. All said, the Skys surely qualify as one band to get up in the air about if not having done already. Try. 8.5/10 By Dave Attrill
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Acid Dragon Magazine
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"A meteor! A new star in the sky coming from nowhere! In fact the Skys is a Baltic band coming from ..."A meteor! A new star in the sky coming from nowhere! In fact the Skys is a Baltic band coming from Lithuania more precisely. The Skys was formed on November 1995. All along their 15 years of life, the Skys have issued four productions: a cassette ("Civilized") in 1997, a cassette EP ("Dreams") in 1999, their debut CD ("Postmodern Game") in 2004 and finally this new disc. I recognize I didn't know this band before (nobody's perfect - Ed). So when I put their CD in my player (the envelope featured no letter, no biography), the surprise was complete. What a sound! Perfect guitars close to Camel, perfect vocals and saxes evoking Pink Floyd, rich melodies and arrangements, a superb mix made in London, prestigious guests (from Roger Waters band, Scorpions, Eurythmics, Cutting Crew, Mostly Autumn, Holding Pattern), a beautiful booklet. Wow! Once again the majors missed the occasion of producing a gem. For me, one of the best albums of 2011. Yes, a new star is born. (R.R.)" Acid Dragon progressive rock magazine http://www.aciddragon.eu
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The Rocktologist
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The Skys is a band from Lithuania which began its musical journey in 1995. They put out a couple of ...The Skys is a band from Lithuania which began its musical journey in 1995. They put out a couple of efforts in the 1990s, but their first real full-length recording came in 2004, with the album Post-Modern Game. Led by guitarist and vocalist Jonas Ciurlionis, it took them 7 years to record a follow-up, but it was worth the wait. Colours of the Desert really does paint quite an appealing picture. You could say that The Skys inhabit a similar kind of musical space as Pink Floyd, appealing to both prog fans and others. And indeed, the music often sounds similar to Pink Floyd, with sensual guitar solos and atmospheric keyboards galore. Even some of the saxophone work seems to work in the same way as on Dark Side of the Moon. But there also other sides to The Skys. One side sees them tackle some heavy neo progressive rock, which is mostly down to the keyboard sound, handled more than competently by Bozena Buinicka (I really can't say what the measure of John Young's involvement was). Another facet involves a more straightforward rock, particularly on a few shorter tracks. Some progressive fans may be snide about it, but The Skys really do handle this with the utmost care. Not only does the album sound really professional, but you also feel like the inspiration well was really full for this one. With an album title like Colours of the Desert, it would also hardly be fitting if the band didn't sprinkle a few Eastern flourishes here and there. But as I said, everything they do, they do really well. I have actually grown pretty weary of reviewing albums with adequate vocalists (at best) and after seeing that most of the tracks here are vocally oriented, I was fearing the worst. The very first moments put my mind at ease, though, as both Jonas and Bozena provide for a stunning listening experience, with gorgeous backing vocals to boot. As you see from the guest list for the album, there was no shortage of talent lending a hand here. But I'm wary when bands use so many flashy names to make an impact. No need to worry, though, as this still feels very much like a group effort and not a marketing ploy and John Young produced the album as well. Colours of the Desert isn't really making anyone's list of best albums of 2011, either in the field of progressive rock or plain old rock. This is a great shame because the album has pretty much everything you would want in rock music – great riffs, soaring solos (guitars, keyboards and saxophone), dramatic twists, some more intricate developments (for your annoying progressive rock fan) and a couple of vocalists who know how to carry the song to a higher level. 8.5 out of 10.
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Jerry Lucky
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The Skys have actually been around since the mid-nineties. Hard to believe we’ve only heard of them ...The Skys have actually been around since the mid-nineties. Hard to believe we’ve only heard of them recently. Colours of the Desert is only their second CD release but let me just say at the outset it’s quite a musical statement. The band, from Lithuania, is currently made up of Jonas Ciurlionis (guitars, vocals), Aleksandr Liutvinskij (guitars), Bozena Buinicka (keyboards, vocals) and Justinas Tamasevicius (bass). What’s also quite interesting is the assortment of guests who they’ve managed to incorporate into their music such as; Martin 'Frosty' Beedle (drums), David Kilminster [Roger Waters] (guitar), John Young [Bonnie Tyler, Scorpions, Fish] (keyboards), Snake Davis [Eurythmics, Ray Charles, Paul McCartney] (saxophone), Tony Spada [Holding Pattern] (guitar), Anne-Marie Helder [Mostly Autumn, Panic Room] (vocals). Colours of the Desert is made up of nine tracks, six of them over the six-minute mark, the longest being just under ten-minutes. On one hand describing the music of The Skys is quite easy; it’s a blend of Pink Floyd and European bands such as Eloy. But as in all cases it’s what they do with their influences that really matters. And here the band’s musicianship and arranging skills really shine, as does their ability write a catchy riff and hummable melody without getting lost in fancy noodling, just for the sake of playing a lot of notes. The band will take a riff or musical motif and work it, massage it into a longer piece or they’ll take a kind of bolero approach, adding and building to a riff of great intensity before shifting to another musical direction. The song “Calling out Your Name” [8:19] does this to great effect where the last half of the song simply repeats the pattern getting more and more dense. This song has become one of my all-time favorites. The mix of male and female vocals is a great touch as well especially on the track “The Pyramid” [7:26] with its hypnotic rhythm and Grace Slick-like vocals. Very trippy. Then in other places you have a nice Floyd feel but the female vocals take it in another direction. Long droning synth passages are intersected with soft and dreamy guitar lines and the tune slowly weaves around a couple melody lines, going from major to minor keys. It’s a very modern sound with a very seventies feel. It’s never very complex, but the whole disc is loaded with a nice vibe and scores of catchy chorus lines. Colours of the Desert is one of those discs or perhaps better stated, The Skys are one of those bands who manage to sound thoroughly modern and yet totally nostalgic. The influences are there and yet they take those bits and make them their own. I sure hope these guys get noticed by a label and get some solid distribution. They deserve to be heard by a much larger crowd. Nice job – loved every minute of it.
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Classic Rock Society Magazine (UK)
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THESKYS – Classic Rock Society Colours Of The Desert WWW.THESKYS.COM A quick glance at the credits f...THESKYS – Classic Rock Society Colours Of The Desert WWW.THESKYS.COM A quick glance at the credits for this Lithuanian band's fourth album and ,you immediately sit up and take notice. Recorded partly at Liscornbe Park studios here in the UK it was produced byJohn Young, who also provides backing vocals and aditional keyboards, and engineered by Steve Rispin. In addition, the guest list includes Dave Kilminster and Anne Marie Helder, and the drummer for the whole session is Martin Beedle of Cutting Crew. Recorded in the late spring of 2010 it has taken a while to surface, but it was well worth the wait. There is strong Pink FIoyd/Roger Waters vibe right through the album, and Kilrninster's work on the up-beat title track is right at home. The Waters like vocals with strong female backing make Is This The Way and When The Western Wind Blows sound as though they could have come from one of the great man's solo albums. While the comparison is unavoidable there is enough of' The Skys themselves in this record to make it original. If you are a fan of the swirling keyboards and big emotional sounding guitar solos you will not go wrong with this. The only question left unanswered is why has it taken 15years and four albums for me to hear of The Skys.
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Chromatique (France)
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The Skys Colours of the Desert par Dan Tordjman On l’a dit et répété : ces dernicres années la révol...The Skys Colours of the Desert par Dan Tordjman On l’a dit et répété : ces dernicres années la révolution musicale est venue en grande partie des pays de l’Est, avec en tzte de file la Pologne et Riverside. Depuis, chez Chromatique, on a vu foultitude de groupes polonais (Grendel, Retrospective, Animations, …), arméniens (Dogma) et hongrois (Dreyelands). On peut y rajouter aujourd’hui la Lituanie. Autrefois connue pour ses basketteurs prometteurs capables de s’exporter en NBA, la province de l’ex-Union Soviétique posscde aussi en son sein d’intéressantes formations musicales … dont fait partie The Skys. Et pourtant, ce n’est pas une nouvelle venue puisque le groupe s’est formé en 1995. Depuis, il n’a pas chomé puisqu’il a sorti trois albums et a connu une certaine reconnaissance dans son pays via les passages radio de plusieurs de ses titres. De nombreux changements parmi les musiciens ont conduit a un hiatus de sept ans, avant de voir les Lituaniens revenir sur le devant de la sccne. Assez des présentations, venons-en a l’essentiel. Une fois de plus, The Skys fait partie de ceux qui pensent (parfois a raison) que les valeurs sures ne s’usent jamais. On fait donc face, au fil de cet album concept, a des inconditionnels de Pink Floyd (post-Waters), Spock’s Beard, voire Marillion par moments. On pourrait mzme ajouter Alan Parsons Project période I, Robot (peut-ztre a cause de l’esprit « seventies ») qui vient hanter le disque de temps a autres. Autant dire que l’on expérimente des sommets d’intensité et d’émotion. Le hic, c’est que Colours of the Desert, c’est un peu les montagnes russes. On y trouve des perles comme le titre éponyme, « Lethal Kiss » « When The Western Wind Blows » et le pavé du disque « Walking Alone » dont les accents empruntés au Floyd nous empzchent d’en perdre une miette. Hélas, c’est bien trop peu pour tenir la distance, non pas que les autres titres soient foncicrement mauvais, mais ceux précédemment cités sont si forts en caractcre, qu’ils donnent envie de les repasser. N’allons pas trop vite en besogne cependant, ces « couleurs du désert; » n’en sont pas moins agréables. Elles mériteraient cependant une meilleure production. Il est en effet dommage de voir une telle alchimie musicale desservie par un son un peu défaillant. Notons aussi la présence de nombreux invités prestigieux comme Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters), John Young (Fish) et Anne-Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn, Panic Room) qui donnent davantage de cachet a ce disque. Il contentera les amateurs de progressif a l’ancienne qui sont restés amoureux d’une musique mélodique et généreuse a la fois. Le potentiel est la, il faut l’exploiter et pas qu’a moitié.
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Music Street Journal
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Review by G. W. Hill While the references seem to run the gamut between Pink Floyd, Nektar, Yes, Haw...Review by G. W. Hill While the references seem to run the gamut between Pink Floyd, Nektar, Yes, Hawkwind and more AOR oriented varieties, the style of prog that The Skys play is modern with a lot of classic elements in place. It’s a strong disc that should please both old-school and newer progressive rock fans. Track by Track Review Colors of the Desert Keyboards open this. The bass guitar joins building anticipation. Then it works out to a faster paced keyboard section to continue. That gives way to a quick acoustic guitar section and they take it to a more full band arrangement from there as this keeps building. It launches out to some killer classic progressive rock sounds after that. The vocals come in over the top of that backdrop. There’s a short adventurous section and then it works to something like Nektar. They take it to a progressive rock meets epic metal ballad treatment from there. It’s one change after another as this piece evolves. A quick bit of metallic guitar gives way to a killer keyboard solo and then a fast paced progressive rock jam for the next vocal section. A hard rocking, almost David Gilmour-like guitar solo comes across later lending a bit of a Pink Floyd air to the proceedings. This is one exceptionally dynamic and powerful piece of music. That much is certain. Is this the Way? There’s a short mellow section and then it works out to a cool harder rocking movement. This is definitely classic progressive rock, but with a modern intensity brought to the table. The vocal arrangement is exceptional, but the music still doesn’t take a back seat. That’s how powerful this is. Although it’s not extremely long, it has some noteworthy guitar soloing and keyboard showings. I... He... Starting mellow, this turns to powerful hard edged progressive rock from there. A number of changes and alterations ensue. Female vocals paired with this particular musical flavor beg comparisons to Magenta. The changes and alterations continue on this powerful number. There’s even a short jaunt into world music. Walking Alone Keyboard sounds bring this in with an atmospheric sound and it builds gradually out from there. The cut just keeps shifting and changing with different sounds leaning in different directions as it continues. The vocal remind me a bit of Hawkwind, but the music at different points feels like Pink Floyd or Yes or Nektar. When the Western Wind Blows While this starts in similar fashion as a lot of the other music here, with mellow sounds, the motif that emerges is among the most straightforward rock here. Still, there is a bit of a Pink Floyd like element here. It’s kind of cool that they put this tune into the mix, allowing an opportunity for grounding. A saxophone solo reinforces that Pink Floyd comparison. Calling Out Your Name With an opening section that’s more AOR rock oriented, this has a bit of a Hawkwind vibe as the vocals enter. While this track is one of the least dynamic pieces on show, there’s plenty of progressive rock in the mix. I love some of the keyboard tones and other elements here. The extended instrumental section also includes some tasty bits of funky guitar and some real drama. Around the five minute mark there’s a shift to some seriously powerful and beautiful symphonic prog. A later section includes some soulful vocals that again bring comparisons to Pink Floyd. The Pyramid The keyboard sounds that open this are dramatic and powerful and rather inspired by Middle Eastern tones. It grows gradually out from there. Later it powers up and the fires out into a fast paced jam that teeters back and forth and around. There is some killer guitar soloing later. Further down the road we’re treated to a melodic vocal segment that’s noteworthy. That gives way to a similarly melodic instrumental movement that’s pretty and potent. Lethal Kiss Acoustic guitar that calls to mind Steve Howe opens this. It moves out melodically from there building very gradually. As it continues the vocals are sort of d
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THE SKYS COLOURS OF THE DESERT REVIEW
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If you close your eyes, THE SKYS take you to places deep inside the soul of their music with their P...If you close your eyes, THE SKYS take you to places deep inside the soul of their music with their Pink Floyd inspired tunes. Ambient and soothing, and then punchy and classically exciting, their creative artism of sound throws you into a solid mix of Wakemen-type epics on their album “COLOURS OF THE DESERT”. Toe-tapping, unique and definitely worth replaying over and over again, “COLOURS OF THE DESERT” impresses and inspires with a maturity that is surprising and refreshing in these musical markets dominated by pop, rock, dance and metal. Truly pleasurable listening!
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Music Waves (France)
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Le groupe The Skys n’évoque probablement pas grand chose a la plupart d’entre vous, et pourtant ce g...Le groupe The Skys n’évoque probablement pas grand chose a la plupart d’entre vous, et pourtant ce groupe se produit depuis 1995. C’est que la formation (un quintette classique mené par le guitariste-chanteur Jonas Ciurlionis) nous vient de Lituanie, un petit pays balte ol la plupart des productions locales se cantonne a un registre volontiers folklorique. The Skys se démarque donc par son chant en anglais et son jeu entre Floyd et néo-progressif. Ciurlionis définit son style comme celui d’un grand frcre de Pink Floyd qui aurait absorbé des stéroldes, c’est dire ! Pour ce “Colours Of The Desert” (son troisicme album), le groupe a convié une pléiade de guests dont Anne-Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn), Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters Band), John Young (ex-Scorpions), ou Snake Davis (Eurythmics, P.McCartney, Ray Charles, James Brown, etc.) au sax. Avec une production signée Steve Rispin (Tina Turner, Elton John, Asia, Tankard, etc), l’album se présente sous les meilleurs auspices ! Pas de surprise, comme pour tout album se réclamant du Floyd, la guitare est prééminente sur tout l’opus (joli solo en entame de ‘Walking Alone’ ou a la fin de ‘Colours Of The Desert’). Le ton oscille entre de fortes influences floydiennes (ou ses dérivés, comme Cosmos), et des parties plus dynamiques non teintées de métal, dans un style varié avec pas mal de secondes voix et ch?urs féminins. Difficile de faire ressortir un morceau dans l’ensemble, chaque titre pouvant receler de jolis coups de guitare (ou de sax comme dans ‘When The Western Wind Blows’), privilégiant avec raison les parties instrumentales, assez réussies, aux parties vocales, le chant masculin n’étant pas le point fort du groupe. Reste donc un album agréable mais pas résolument moderne, The Skys se contentant de suivre avec une certaine réussite le sillon tracé par ses illustres prédécesseurs. Sans surprise mais avec quelques étincelles instrumentales !
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Proggnosis
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Colors of the Desert is my first encounter with Lituanian band The Skys. On this album at least, the...Colors of the Desert is my first encounter with Lituanian band The Skys. On this album at least, their music is very much in the Neo-Prog genre. Bands like Arena, , Pallas and Fish led Marillion come to my mind while listening to Colors of the Desert . On a few tracks the band gets mellower and mid seventies Pink Floyd can come to mind. The pieces on this CD are mostly song based, but every track features some nice soloing on the synth or guitar. There are many talented guests on this CD and it shows in the quality of the music. Anne-Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn, Panic Room)nice voice is very much featured on Colors of the Desert . Jonas Ciurlionis shares the lead vocals with somewhat of a Fish style voice. Colors of the Desert by The Skys is an album that should appeal to lovers of Neo Prog, a genre that has not been blessed with that many good albums recently. Go to the band's website to sample some of their stuff.
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Sea of Tranquility
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Colours of the Desert is the first time that I've encountered Lithuania's foremost Prog Rock act The...Colours of the Desert is the first time that I've encountered Lithuania's foremost Prog Rock act The Skys (not to be confused with the US electro-pop-rock outfit of the same name), although it is in fact the band's fourth album. Bringing together influences such as Pink Floyd (the strongest flavour), RPWL, Fish era Marillion and Eloy, The Skys have created a Neo-Prog album of quite some stature, with bold musical themes being boosted by intricate, yet grand arrangements. The album itself appears to be conceptual, with the desert and the life the passes through it being the central theme - something backed up by the cohesive nature of the music, which uses similar sections to Pink Floyd, or Misplaced Childhood era Marillion to link the songs and make them flow seamlessly from theme to theme. The album starts inauspiciously, and I'd go as far as to suggest that the initial passage of the album's title track are completely underwhelming. It is a shame that such a convincing collection begins in such an unexciting manner. However things pick up quickly, with Arena like dynamics building the song through clever use of keyboards and a multi-vocal approach. Both guitarist Jonas Ciurlionis and keyboard player Bozena Buinicka provide vocals, with the male-female interplay adding depth to the excellently crafted guitar and keyboard themes. That said while both are interesting singers, Bozena is consistently outshone by the wonderful backing vocals courtesy of Anne Marie-Helder (Mostly Autumn/Panic Room). Helder isn't the only guest to turn up, with Roger Waters guitarist Dave Kilminster, Scorpions/Fish keyboard player John Young, Cutting Crew drummer Martin Beedle, Holding Pattern guitarist Tony Spada and Eurythmics/Paul McCartney saxophonist Snake Davis all adding their weight to an already excellent album. The band themselves are no slouches though, with Jonas combining with second guitarist Alex Liutvinskij and Bozena's keyboard to great effect across the nine tracks on show, while Justas Tamasevicius and Ilja Molodcov show great restraint and poise on bass and drums respectively. What really raises Colours Of The Desert above the many albums that contain similar Neo-Prog ideals is the way that The Skys have created selection of music that really flows beautifully from start to finish, but in a way that still spins off on tangents to keep you completely focused on what is going on. The songs vary from introspective and atmospheric, to full on Neo bombast, with "Walking Alone" coming on like prime time Floyd, especially in the guitar solo, whereas "Calling Out Your Name" provides a gloriously catchy chorus that will see you singing the song's title long after the album has finished. "The Pyramid" takes things into a more film score like direction, with strings underpinning a poignant guitar line, while the saxophone and vocals take us deep into RPWL territory during closing track "What If?". Colours Of The Desert is an album that improves with numerous listens, maturing and enthralling as you become more familiar with it. I'm off to become even more acquainted right now!
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Prog Wereld (The Netherlands)
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‘The sky is the limit’ zegt men en zo is het ook in Litouwen. Toch beweegt de muziek van The Skys zi...‘The sky is the limit’ zegt men en zo is het ook in Litouwen. Toch beweegt de muziek van The Skys zich binnen bepaalde grenzen. “Colours Of The Desert”, de tweede cd van de band, kent dan ook geen buitensporigheden. Dat had zomaar wel gekund. Aan de ene kant is daar hun Pink Floyd -achtige prog, aan de andere kant horen we misstapgevoelige stijlen als psychedelica en spacerock. Ook zit er een laagje neo-prog in het bandgeluid evenals donkere new age en classicrock. Binnen dit kader pakt de band behoorlijk uit, met andere woorden, het klinkt lekker enthousiast op de plaat. De band wordt in 1995 opgericht door zanger/gitarist Jonas Ciurlionis. Sindsdien is het een komen en gaan van muzikanten. Ciurlionis is nog het enige bandlid van weleer. Wel werkt hij al vele jaren samen met gitarist Alexandr Liutvinskij. Op “Colours Of The Desert” is The Skys een kwartet, dit door de aanvulling van toetseniste/zangeres Bozena Buinicka en bassist Justinas Tamasevicius. Het is een leuk stelletje Litouwers en toch hebben ze aan zichzelf blijkbaar niet genoeg. Een heel blik gastmuzikanten is namelijk opengetrokken, deels voor de noodzaak, deels om het album flink te pimpen. De band spint enorm garen bij het drumwerk dat Martin Beedle (Cutting Crew) aflevert. Wat een gedrevenheid legt deze man aan de dag. Als je de vonken van het dampende openingsnummer hoort afspatten (en dat is nergens anders), zou je zweren dat hij al jaren samenspeelt met bassist Tamasevicius. Het nummer profiteert natuurlijk ook geweldig van de gastrol die gitarist Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters band) er heeft. Hierdoor ziet het er naar uit dat The Skys op eigen kracht beduidend minder flitsend zou zijn. Herhaaldelijk luisteren logenstraft deze voorbarige gedachtegang echter helemaal. Dan valt pas op dat de composities uitstekend in elkaar zitten, dat de melodieen sterk zijn, maar bovenal dat het allemaal erg aangenaam klinkt. De zang in z’n geheel klinkt vrij straight forward waardoor de band zich eigenlijk nergens verliest. Het is een vaste waarde waar de muziek z’n coherentie aan ontleent. De stem van Ciurlionis is prettig om naar te luisteren. Deze is niet groots, maar hij heeft dat rauwe randje waardoor ook bijvoorbeeld Bryan Josh van Mostly Autumn gewaardeerd wordt. Nu we het toch over Mostly Autumn hebben: The Skys ondersteunt zijn leadzang veelal ook met vrouwelijke koortjes en wie Anne Marie Helder meent te horen zingen heeft het juist, zij is ook van de partij. Je slaat trouwens echt geen modderfiguur als je de band een folkloze Mostly Autumn noemt. The Skys kan ook zo lekker ongecompliceerd klinken. Neem wat dat betreft Is This The Way en hoor de toegankelijkheid. Het middengedeelte van het album is het sterkst. Nummers als Waiting Alone met z’n Floydiaanse intro en When The Western Wind Blows waar de gitaarsolo wederom van Kilminster is, wil je gewoonweg graag horen als liefhebber van melodieuze prog. Tijdens het vervolg van het album komt het psychedelische steeds meer aan de oppervlakte en dat terwijl de prog geen millimeter heeft willen wijken. Het levert helaas wel een matig nummer als Calling Out Your Name op waar de combinatie classic rock/psychedelica nogal gekunsteld overkomt. Wat dat betreft werkt het vele herhalen van de titel ook niet echt bevorderlijk. The Pyramid daarentegen mag met zijn fijne orgelklanken en de geweldige gitaarsolo van Tony Spada (Halding Pattern) gerekend worden tot het meest smakelijke nummer van de plaat. Sommige bands vinden het leuk om een vreemd instrument te gebruiken, zo ook The Skys. Lethal Kiss bevat een tambura, een Indisch snaarinstrument dat doet denken aan een sitar. Behalve de basistonen zijn ook de boventonen te horen en dat klinkt mysterieus, zeker met de declamerende vrouwenstem. Het album sluit mooi af met What If, een akoestisch getint popliedje met saxofoonspel van Snake Davis (Eurythmics). Het nummer heeft een Roger Waters-achtige sfeer die zeer ‘eightees’ is en dat past als een handschoen. Het album toont onver
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Prog Org (Poland)
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Niewiele wiemy o muzyce Litewskiej. Niewiele wiemy o tym czego TAM sluchaja, niewiele wiemy jak Tam ...Niewiele wiemy o muzyce Litewskiej. Niewiele wiemy o tym czego TAM sluchaja, niewiele wiemy jak Tam graja. Az dziwne, bo po pierwsze blisko, po drugie wiele nas ze soba laczy... Mysle ze przyszla pora to zmienic - a wszystko za sprawa tajemniczej (dla nas) grupy The Skys. Plyta 'wpadla mi' w rece troche przypadkowo, chodzilo o zaproszenie The Skys na krakowskie ProgGnozy, no ale jak kogos zapraszac jak sie go nie zna...? Dwa maile i plyta przyjechala do domu. A wiec tradycja - kot do michy, ja na fotel, szklanka dlon i poszlo... Neo-prog nie jest muzyka która wyzwala we mnie jakies szczególnie cieple uczucia (poza chlubnymi wyjatkami oczywiscie...), wiec traktowalem to przesluchanie bardziej jako obowiazek niz przyjemnosc. Ale od poczatku mile zaskoczenie - jest fajnie, duzo sie dzieje, równiez rzeczy niezwykle oryginalnych, a muzycy naprawde umieja grac. Zmiany rytmu, nastroju i klimatu od samego poczatku, do tego swietne solówki klawiszowe i gitarowe i bardzo dobry wokal, zarówno damski jak i meski. Plyta 'Colours of the Desert' to znakomite wydawnictwo, 9 utworów, 58 minut muzyki. Muzyki kipiacej od pomyslów, bardzo oryginalnej i bardzo sprawnie zagranej. Slychac dalekie echa Pink Floyd i Eloy, jak równiez 'polamane rytmy' wczesnych Spock Beard, ale nie nachalnie, w kazdym momencie czuc ze to Skys. Grupa wypracowala wlasne, rozpoznawalne brzmienie , co jest niezwykle wazne i cenne dla kazdego artysty... Tak wiec bardzo mila niespodzianka - tym bardziej ze zblizaja sie koncerty The Skys w naszym kraju. Polecam ta plyte praktycznie wszystkim, a zwlaszcza fanom srodkowego Eloy, choc jest to na tyle dobra muzyka, ze kazdy znajdzie tu cos dla siebie. Oczywiscie moim, jak zwykle cholernie subiektywnym zdaniem... Napisal Aleksander Król, dzien 05/01/2012 o godz. 15:47
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Arlequins (Italy)
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Quasi venti anni sono passati dalle origini di questo gruppo lituano: correva l’anno 1995 e da allor...Quasi venti anni sono passati dalle origini di questo gruppo lituano: correva l’anno 1995 e da allora il gruppo ha dovuto subire numerosissimi cambi di formazione, ha dato alla luce alcune release amatoriali, incluso l’album di esordio (“Postmodern game” – 2004) ed infine, di recente, pare aver trovato il bandolo della matassa, con un’acquisita professionalità, una line-up (si spera) stabile e alcune importanti partecipazioni a festival internazionali, cosa che ha loro permesso di farsi un nome e poter anche incassare alcune partecipazioni eccellenti a questo loro secondo album. Partendo dalla formazione, troviamo solo due nomi in comune col quintetto che ha dato alle stampe il traballante esordio summenzionato, ovvero quelli del cantante/chitarrista Jonas Ciurlionis e quello del chitarrista Aleksandr Liutvinskij. I nuovi arrivi (Božena Buinicka, tastiere e voce, e Justinas Tamasevicius, basso) sono integrati, come dicevo, da un notevole numero di ospiti, primo fra tutti ovviamente un batterista, nella persona di Martin Beedle (la band poi ha reclutato un batterista di ruolo: Ilja Molodcov). Ad esso si uniscono poi John Young (tastierista della band di Fish), Tony Spada, David Kilminster (Roger Waters Band), Snake Davis (che ha suonato con Eurythmics, Ray Charles e Paul McCartney) e Anne-Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn e Panic Room). Il disco che ne viene fuori è decisamente interessante, se amate un Prog energico, piuttosto new-Prog oriented, discretamente realizzato e con alcune canzoni, tra le nove qui presentate, decisamente interessanti. E’ il caso della iniziale title-track, dalle ritmiche indiavolate e con assoli di tastiera che raramente ascolteremo nel prosieguo dell’album, o della bella “Walking alone”, il pezzo più lungo dell’album. Il disco purtroppo però alterna alti e bassi, con la presenza di brani che fanno storcere decisamente la bocca, come la smaccatamente floydiana “When the Western wind blows”, l’immediatamente successiva “Calling out your name” che, nonostante un discreto intermezzo centrale strumentale, ha uno stile un po’ troppo blues-rock e sing-along, o la poppeggiante traccia conclusiva “What if”. Il gruppo se la cava decisamente meglio nelle sequenze più tirate, in cui la musica comincia a volare, sia che si tratti di parti strumentali (tipo il finale di “The pyramid”), sia in quelle in cui il cantato accompagna degnamente queste sfuriate strumentali, come nella già citata title-track. Un brano abbastanza particolare è peraltro la penultima traccia, “Lethal kiss”, un pezzo d’atmosfera, con richiami floydiani, ritmiche lente e cadenzate, sonorità di finto-sitar, un cantato quasi sussurrato ed un finale in crescendo caratterizzato da un lungo vocalizzo femminile. Il gruppo lituano dunque ha fatto notevoli passi in avanti da quello che conoscevamo, sicuramente dal punto di vista tecnico; se il gruppo riuscirà a scrollarsi di dosso ancora qualche incertezza residua e l’eccessiva venerazione per l’universo Pink Floyd, sicuramente avremo un bell’acquisto per il consesso Prog mondiale; nel frattempo possiamo tranquillamente ascoltarci quest’album che, nel complesso, è comunque decisamente gradevole.
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Passion Progressive (France)
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The Skys nous vient de Lituanie, pour ce " Colours Of The Desert " leur troisicme album, le groupe, ...The Skys nous vient de Lituanie, pour ce " Colours Of The Desert " leur troisicme album, le groupe, mené par le guitariste-chanteur Jonas Ciurlionis ,a convié une pléiade de guests. Musicalement le ton oscille entre fortes influences a la Pink Floyd , néo-progressif, parties plus dynamiques non teintées de métal, avec une guitare prééminente, un chant en anglais et pas mal de secondes voix et ch?urs féminins, la voix de Anne Marie Helder apporte beaucoup a l'album, tout particulicrement sur le 'Lethal Kiss' qui lui fait une belle place.. Voila un album bien joué, bien réalisé, la musique surfe avec aisance d'un style musical a l'autre, avec sa guitare aérienne aux soli Gilmourien, ses claviers symphoniques puissants, ses percussions juste ol il faut, voila un album certes classique mais d'excellente facture.
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Progarchives
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The leading Lithuanian band with this, their second album. I interviewed them earlier this year and ...The leading Lithuanian band with this, their second album. I interviewed them earlier this year and they came across as a highly professional band with a vision and a drive to succeed. Something I am sure they will do with this album. Crossover is the right word here. The Skys is perfectly comfortable outside the prog rock genre as inside our genre. This album is a crossover album in the true meaning of the word. Which makes this album a big mouthful. It is a big, big album. Where do I start ? Good question ! Seriously, where do I start ?!? The music here crosses includes so many elements and genres it is difficult to really make a review here. Also mainly due to me reviewing it as a proghead I am. I am not that keen on commercial rock. A type of music that bores me to death & beyond. This album is a very commercial album to a large extent. No, it does not have any bubblegum teenybop hit singles. But it will appeal to the middle of the road rock/pop fan out there. So this album lifts itself out of the prog genre. Music wise, The Skys has lifted a lot from Pink Floyd, post Roger Waters. I am thinking A Momentary Lapse Of Reason here. The sound, the wailing female vocals, the saxophone and the male vocals; this is the A Momentary Lapse Of Reason sound. Which worked well for Pink Floyd. They sold 10 mill of it and that sound is as popular as ever. The Skys has tapped into it and the result is very good. Then they strays off into straight rock territory too. That does not go down that well with me. But The Skys also does a lot of modern rock with electronica and jazz ever present. That goes down very well with me. So does the few prog metal stuff here too. In short; this album taps into a lot of genres. Something that should go down well at the tills and in particular; at festivals and gigs. Because the music here is probably far better live than on record. Yes, I would not mind enjoying this band live on a festival. This band is a festival band, through and through. The Skys uses both female and male vocals. Both are very good. They also uses the usual prog setup with bass, drums, guitars and keyboards. The quality....... well, this album is such a big mouthful that it is hard to digest. It is kind of tucking into one of these two and half kilos big Texas beefburgers they sell in USA. And I have both my legs planted in the prog rock camp. This album does not, though. This is difficult. Really difficult. I am tempted to award four stars. It is borderline four stars album. But a three and three quarters award will have to do. I may come back later to upgrade it, though. If you like big melodic rock with one foot in the prog rock world and the other foot somewhere else, this is the album for you. 3.75 stars
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Merlin Prog (Norway)
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Colors Of The Desert Kvartetten fra Litauen er ute med oppfølgeren til debuten fra 2004, og i tilleg...Colors Of The Desert Kvartetten fra Litauen er ute med oppfølgeren til debuten fra 2004, og i tillegg til å ha lang tid mellomutgivelsene sysler Skys med crossoverprog og har med seg mange kjente og kjære progmusikere på den nye skiva. Dave Kilminster (Gitarer hos Roger Waters band) , Tony Spada (Holding Pattern), John Young (keyboards), Snake Davies (saksofon), Anne Marie Helder (vokal) og mange flere. http://www.theskys.com/
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Alone in the desert, one needs hope (Progarchives)
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The Skys are one of the leading progressive rock bands of Lithuania, active for over 15 years but wi...The Skys are one of the leading progressive rock bands of Lithuania, active for over 15 years but with a line-up recently revamped. The release of the new and majestic "Colours of the Desert" should go a long way in attracting new fans outside of their homeland. Featuring a wealth of high profile special guests and an ambitious compositional attitude, this is an impressive hour of prog rock. Other reviewers have mentioned everyone from Floyd to Gathering to Renaissance to Eloy in attempts to describe their sound. As the band seemed amused by these assessments in their interview with Torodd, I'll add my own little nonsensical opinion and say the first comparison that popped into my melon was The Alan Parsons Project. So there. "Colours of the Desert" falls short of being a masterpiece in my opinion, but it is a fantastically enjoyable and eclectic album. Well rounded, enthusiastic, and engaging melodic prog rock is what we get here, with a consistent theme being pursued: "So far this is our most mature album. It is about the journey to desert. At certain stages of our lives we all go to the desert. And desert is all around us - our cities, our daily lives desert may be inside and outside us. Desert is full of temptations, mirages, thoughts and conversations with yourself. However, each time we return from the desert we are different." -Jonas Ciurlionis, interview with PA The music tries hard to capture the desert theme, in spots sporting various sound effects along with a slight Middle Eastern flavor. Along with the wide variety of lush sounds and light/heavy atmospheres at times it recalls something like Orphaned Land without the metal element. The weapons at their disposal here are many. The mix of male and female vocals is very effective and of good quality. The main male singer has this slightly gravelly Gabriel thing going, and the female voice is quite ethereal, mixed together and with the backing harmonies they can be wonderful. The tracks are packed with soaring guitar/saxophone solos and keyboards of many textures. Love the airy backgrounds, stately piano lines, acoustic guitars, and even a bit of strings. The rhythm section is suitably aggressive when the music demands it, but able to transition smoothly during the more laid-back moments. The all important quality of the songs is mixed but mostly pretty tasty. I like the ones which leaned eclectic more than the ones with repetitive, catchy chorus parts. The tracks which had the most mystery and mood, where you didn't know what would happen next, were the most exciting. As mentioned, the album reminds me of something like "I Robot" but with longer, sassier playing and a bit more oomph. I really like the fact that despite the obvious talent of the players, my attention is always on the beauty of the sound rather than clinical assessments of their technical prowess. In other words, the members are creating engaging sound rather than showing off. There are so many talented eclectic/crossover prog bands out there now that the challenge for The Skys will be to get people to pay attention. A beautiful work. Between 3-4 stars but I enjoyed this enough to round it up.
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Quebec Audio (Canada)
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The Skys est un groupe lituanien qui vit le jour a la fin des années 1990. Celui-ci est compos...The Skys est un groupe lituanien qui vit le jour a la fin des années 1990. Celui-ci est composé de Jonas Ciurlionis (voix, guitare), Bozena Buinicka (voix, claviers), Alexandr Luitvins- kij (guitare) et Justinas Tamasevicius (basse), auxquels s’ajoutent une dizaine de musiciens, chanteurs et chanteuses invités. colours of the desert est son troisicme opus, les deux pre- miers étant postmodern game (2004) et dreams (1999). Pour ceux qui l’ignorent, la Lituanie est un pays d’Europe du Nord situé sur la rive orientale de la mer Baltique. Occupé par les Nazis, puis par les Soviétiques, ce n’est que depuis 1990 que cet état balte est redevenu indépendant. Favorisant un style un peu conventionnel mais trcs symphonique, la musique de The Skys s’inscrit dans cette tendance nord européenne et scandinave qui favorise les mélodies complexes, les passages instrumentaux spectaculaires, les voix rauques un peu monocordes de mzme que les partitions de guitares aiguisées. La picce titre qui débute l’album ne dépayse pas une seconde et pourrait en l’occurrence trcs bien provenir d’un groupe suédois. Les arran- gements vocaux sont remarquables et laissent une belle place a la toute féminine Anne Marie Helder (mostly autumn), ce qui fait un joli complément a la voix un peu scche de Ciurlio- nis. Malgré quelques moments faibles, notamment lors de la picce calling out your name, quelque peu agaeante et comportant de trop nombreux clins d’?il a la formation culte Pink Floyd, colours of the desert reste un produit riche, ludique et drolement articulé…
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Neoprog.eu (France)
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Le concept album commence magnifiquement par 'Colours of the Desert', un titre trcs progressif, bien...Le concept album commence magnifiquement par 'Colours of the Desert', un titre trcs progressif, bien construit, surprenant, avec des riffs assez anasazi. On est séduit par la voix rocailleuse, les ch?urs, les changements de rythme, le magnifique final. Du pur bonheur ! Mais The Skys ne fait pas dans l'originalité. Le groupe est trcs fortement influencés par Pink Floyd et l'assume complctement comme sur 'Walking alone' et 'When the Western Wind Blows'. Pour de nombreux titres, l'amateur aura l'impression d'écouter une reprise connue, mais quand il cherchera de qui, il ne trouvera pas. Les morceaux sont batis avec des éléments pzchés un peu partout et assemblés habilement. C'est assez déroutant mais pas désagréable. Des claviers bien amenés, quelques solo de guitare admirables, des percussions juste ol il faut et un chant a la hauteur. La voix de Anne Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn, Panic Room) apporte beaucoup a l'album, tout particulicrement sur le 'Lethal Kiss' qui lui fait une belle place. Mes titres favoris sont 'Colours of the Desert' et 'The Pyramid' qui me semblent un peu plus originaux. Un petit moins, le final 'What if?' un peu bateau, mais ea passe trcs bien quand mzme. Tout l'album est d'excellente facture, bien joué, bien réalisé. La musique surfe avec aisance d'un style musical a l'autre, on ne s'ennuie pas un seul instant
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MLWZ (Poland)
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Odkrywamy nowe progrockowe terytoria. Zespól The Skys pochodzi z Litwy i w ciagu 15 lat swojej dzial...Odkrywamy nowe progrockowe terytoria. Zespól The Skys pochodzi z Litwy i w ciagu 15 lat swojej dzialalnosci dorobil sie juz kilku wydawnictw oraz nagród. Wsród tych pierwszych wymienmy album „Civilized” (1997) wydany w formie kasety magnetofonowej, EP-ke „Dreams” (1999) tez osiagalna wylacznie na kasetowym nosniku, oficjalna debiutancka plyte „Postmodern Game” (2004) oraz wydany pod koniec ubieglego roku – zaskakujaco dobry i dojrzaly album „Colours Of The Desert”. Wsród drugich nalezaloby wymienic nagrode polskiej publicznosci na „Rockowych Andrzejkach 2011” oraz prestizowe wyróznienie na New York International Music Festival w 2004 roku. The Skys maja tez w swoim dorobku wystepy na festiwalach Prog Farm w Holandii i Crescendo we Francji. Jak wiec widac, dzialaja w progresywnym swiatku (i to z powodzeniem) nie od dzis, ale jakos do tej pory nie zdolali sie przebic ze swoja muzyka do Polski. Z tym wieksza radoscia przyblizam dzis sylwetke naszych braci Litwinów, którzy niedawno nadeslali do MLWZ swoje najnowsze wydawnictwo. Jonas Ciurlionis (v, g), Aleksandr Liutvinskij (g), Justinas Tamaševicius (bg), Božena Buinicka (k, v) i Ilja Molodcov (dr) na plycie „Colours Of The Desert” posluguja sie na plycie „Colours Of The Desert” alegoria pustyni, a wlasciwie wyprawy na pustynie, do której porównuja krete sciezki ludzkiego zycia. „Zycie to taka podróz, w której czyhaja na nas niebezpieczenstwa i miraze, a kazdy z nas po odbyciu takiej podrózy, wraca z niej odmieniony” – tlumaczy lider zespolu The Skys, Jonas Ciurlionis. Tematyka pustynnej tulaczki przewija sie w tekstach i tytulach poszczególnych utworów („Colours Of The Desert”, „The Pyramid”, „Lethal Kiss”, „Walking Alone”), a takze w orientalnych smaczkach (jak na przyklad wokalizy Boženy Buinickiej w skadinad najlepszych na plycie utworach „Colours Of The Desert” i „Lethal Kiss”). Muzyczne propozycje Litwinów sa trudne do jednoznacznego zdefiniowania. Wymykaja sie wszelkim próbom zaszufladkowania czy wrzucenia do worka z któryms konkretnym (pod)rodzajem rocka. Ale, podkreslmy to od razu, nie oznacza to wcale, ze mamy do czynienia z albumem na wskros eklektycznym, i ze The Skys próbuje zasymilowac w swoich produkcjach nie wiadomo jak wiele róznych stylów. I choc w rockowej osnowie muzyki zespolu przewijaja sie elementy jazzu, elektroniki, metalu, a nawet muzyki bliskowschodniej, to trzeba jasno powiedziec, ze wszystko to doskonale pasuje do siebie i calkiem dobrze wspólgra ze soba. Zeby jednak odpowiednio nakierunkowac czytajacych te recenzje i wskazac moje osobiste skojarzenia budzace sie w trakcie sluchania plyty „Colours Of The Desert”, to powiem, ze muzyka The Skys przypomina mi swoim stylem produkcje spod znaku Eloy i The Alan Parsons Project. Ale slychac tez w niej echa The Gathering, Renaissance, Pink Floyd, a takze naszego Hipgnosis. Jak widac, rozrzut to dosc spory, ale – podkreslam to raz jeszcze – w wydaniu The Skys, przyprawione sola i pieprzem indywidualizmu, te pozornie odlegle od siebie elementy, nabieraja rumienców, konkretnych ksztaltów i ukladaja sie w bardzo udane (w wiekszosci) kompozycje. Te najciekawsze fragmenty, obok wspomnianego powyzej utworu tytulowego, to przede wszystkim mroczny i tajemniczy „Lethal Kiss”, mozna by rzec, ze przebojowy, choc trwa ponad 8 minut, „Calling Out Your Name”, obdarzony epickim solo na gitarze „Walking Alone” oraz chwytliwy „Is This The Way?”. Bogate instrumentarium grupy The Skys w polaczeniu z bardzo dobrze zharmonizowanymi ze soba zenskimi i meskimi wokalami idealnie wpisuje sie w ramy neoprogresywnego rocka. I to takiej jego odmiany, która nalezy uznac za oryginalna i niepowtarzalna. Ciesze sie bardzo, ze grupa The Skys podaza wlasna sciezka, nie starajac sie nikogo nasladowac i nie pragnac brzmiec podobnie do wykonawców uznawanych za ikony gatunku. Powiem szczerze, ze album „Colours Of The Desert” przypadl mi do gustu. Zawiera on z jednej strony przystepna w odbiorze, latwa w przyswojeniu muzyke, a z drugiej – jest zywy
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Sea of Tranquility
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Review by J-Man PROG REVIEWER Colours of the Desert is both a unique and impressive effort from lead...Review by J-Man PROG REVIEWER Colours of the Desert is both a unique and impressive effort from leading Lithuanian progressive rock act The Skys. In addition to sporting a decidedly modern take on art rock, the band has also managed to incorporate various styles of jazz, rock, prog, and even touches of pop and soul into their distinct sound. You can definitely spot influences from Pink Floyd, Spock's Beard, and Marillion in their sound, but The Skys manage to retain their unique brand of neo-progressive art rock throughout the full duration of Colours of the Desert. There are also enough solid compositions here to keep most listeners coming back for more, and even though I wouldn't venture to call this an entirely flawless effort, it is a solid outing from this promising band. While not all songs here are excellent, there are definitely a few great tracks found within this 57 minute album. "Colours of the Desert", "Lethal Kiss", and "Walking Alone" (the longest song on the album) especially stand out as fantastic pieces of music, and these are the three songs that I always remember most fondly when the album ends. "Is This the Way" and "Calling Out Your Name" are a bit too chorus-based for my tastes, even though they both have a few killer aspects. I especially like the former's keyboard playing and the latter's Pink Floyd-ish middle section. The David Gilmour-styled guitar solos throughout the album, matched with female vocal sections and occasional saxophone solos, do tend to give Colours of the Desert a significant Pink Floyd flavoring from time to time. The musicianship is also really impressive across the board, and I especially have to mention that the guitar solos performed throughout the album (by guests and full-time members) are spectacular. I do think that Colours of the Desert would've benefited from a more professional production and a few more killer tracks, but this is generally a very solid offering of modern progressive rock from The Skys. People who take a liking to art rock that's both original and still accessible should definitely find plenty to love on Colours of the Desert. I'd say 3.5 stars are well-deserved for this impressive album.
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Background Magazine
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The Lithuanian rock band The Skys was formed in 1995. You could say that since then they are the lea...The Lithuanian rock band The Skys was formed in 1995. You could say that since then they are the leading band of the progressive rock scene in Lithuania. In the last fifteen years the band suffered from many line-up changes, but that didn't prevent The Skys from recording Civilized (1997), Dreams (1999) and Postmodern Game (2004). In 2008 the band gave a live performance at the annual Progfarm Festival in The Netherlands, but this gig didn't have a big impact on the people who were present then. The band didn't sound that professional and the music was rather mainstream rock with an occasional link to Pink Floyd. Ever since that performance I never heard anything from The Skys until now. Recently the band's manager offered me the possibility to listen to their latest effort by sending a promo copy of the brand-new album Colours Of The Desert. I agreed, but my expectations didn't run high because of their poor performance in The Netherlands. However, when I listened to the album I couldn't believe that this was the same band that I had seen on stage three years ago. They had improved a lot since then. All nine tracks sound professional and as far as the high-leveled compositions are concerned, I haven't much negative remarks either. Jonas Ciurlionis (guitars, vocals), Aleksandr Liutvinskij (guitars), Bozena Buinicka (keyboards, vocals) and Justinas Tamasevicius (bass) have achieved something that surpassed my expectations. This album contains fine prog rock mainly inspired by the music of Pink Floyd. All songs kept my attention until the last note. The contributions of some well-known guest musicians certainly helped a lot to take the music to a higher level. What to think of Martin 'Frosty' Beedle (drums, Cutting Crew), David Kilminster (guitar, Roger Waters), John Young (keyboards, Scorpions, Fish), Snake Davis (saxophone, Eurythmics, Paul McCartney), Tony Spada (guitar, Holding Pattern), and Anne-Marie Helder (backing vocals, Mostly Autumn, Panic Room) ? The production by John Young did the rest and provided the album with a very professional and international sound! Judging by the booklet Colours Of The Desert seems to be a concept album. In the booklet we see several beautiful images of a desert. The CD starts very promising with the title track, an up-tempo piece containing a fine synthesizer solo. The male lead vocals of Jonas Ciurlionis are jus fine, but unfortunately throughout the album the female vocals of Bozena Buinicka are poor. The strong female backing vocals, the male vocals and the excellent guitar solo performed by David Kilminster take the music in the direction of Pink Floyd. On the second track Is This The Way? hints of Pink Floyd are present as well because of the fine backing vocals and the sound of a Hammond organ. A beautiful synthesizer solo provides for a more neo-progressive rock sound. Walking Alone contains another great guitar solo this time played by Jonas Ciurlionis. I think he must have listened to Dave Gilmour more than a thousand times. This song also shows traces of Hawkwind, which can be heard more often throughout the album, but also a band as Eloy came into my mind. When The Western Wind Blows is a fine mellow piece whereupon Mr. Kilminster takes the lead by playing some extraordinary guitar parts. Together with the saxophone parts of Snake Davis the music again resembles Pink Floyd. That's also the case on Calling Out Your Name, but now in combination with traces of Hawkwind. The Pyramid has some eastern influences; the sound of an acoustic guitar fits perfectly here. Early Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett can be heard on the mellow sounding Lethal Kiss. The orchestral parts, well-performed on the keyboards, suit this song well. The last track What If could have been composed by RPWL. However, these Germans are strongly influenced by Pink Floyd either. This track again contains a fine saxophone solo; a guitar solo ends the album in style. I can only compliment the musicians of The Skys. They
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Koid'9 (France)
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Vous souvenez vous de ce groupe lituanien qui avait fait 2600 Km et 3 jours de route en bagnole pour...Vous souvenez vous de ce groupe lituanien qui avait fait 2600 Km et 3 jours de route en bagnole pour venir au festival Crescendo en 2010? Le groupe nous avait parlé, dans l'interview qu'il nous avait accordé, de leur nouvel album, déjà entièrement enregistré (entre Vilnius et Londres – dans les studios d'Uriah Heep et d'Asia – avec l'aide de l'ingénieur du son de ce dernier!) Comment expliquer que l'album ne sorte que près de 2 ans et demi après? C'est le problème de nombres de groupes actuellement (cf. ma chronique du dernier Yesterdays). Les lituaniens ont pour leur part sorti l'album sur les plates-formes de téléchargement depuis fin 2010, mais ne trouvaient pas de contrat de distribution pour fabriquer leur CD. Est-ce déjà la fin annoncée du support physique en musique? J'en ai malheureusement bien peur… Revenons donc à ce petit "miracle" en la présence d'un véritable disque, agrémenté d'un beau livret contenant toutes les paroles et de jolies photos. Le groupe de Jonas Ciurlionis (guitare, chant), est désormais un quartet, composé de Božena Buinicka (chant, clavier), Aleksandr Liutvinskij (guitare) et Justinas Tamaševicius (basse). Une flopée de musiciens sont invités, jugez-en plutôt : Dave Kilminster à la guitare (du groupe de Roger Waters), Martin Beedle à la batterie (Cutting Crew), Snake Davis au saxophone (Eurythmics, Paul Mc Cartney, Ray Charles, James Brown, etc.), Anne-Marie Helder aux chœurs (Mostly Autumn), Tony Spada à la guitare (Holding Pattern), Anatolij Lomonosav au tampura (instrument à cordes de la famille des luths), les fidèles choristes Jolanta "JG" Grietnickaite, Lijana Stakausaite, Aqua et Runa et enfin John Young (Scorpions, Bonnie Tyler, Fish, etc.), qui joue des claviers, fait les chœurs et produit l'album. Le disque est un concept album à propos d'un homme dans le désert confronté à la tentation. Le concept tente de brasser de nombreux concepts philosophiques… Les références musicales du groupe ont toujours été Pink Floyd, évidemment, mais l'on note de très nombreux rapprochements avec aussi les allemands d'Eloy (notamment à cause du chant rocailleux du leader et ce symphonisme grandiloquent). Mon ami Luc Lhericel concluait en 2010 son live report de la sorte "Soyons honnête, The Skys n’a rien inventé et si sa musique n’est pas une copie conforme du Floyd, ils laissent entrevoir sur quelques morceaux une véritable capacité de création, mais qui reste très limitée malgré tout". Je dois avouer que le groupe a eu l'intelligence de s'entourer de fantastiques musiciens et a réussi son pari de ne pas totalement plagier le Floyd sur ce disque (encore que sur des morceaux comme "Walking alone" ou "When the Western Wind Blows", l'on soit en droit de s'interroger). Le concept s'écoute facilement, la musique coule de source, avec principalement des morceaux assez longs (2 titres de 3', 1 de 4', 2 de 6', 2 de 7', 1 de 8' et 1 de 9'). Le magnifique chant d'Anne Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn, Panic Room) est très bien intégré à l'ensemble et ajoute une note d'originalité sympathique. La marque de fabrique du groupe est aussi ses superbes chœurs féminins (jusqu'à 5 choristes féminines et 2 masculins).Le batteur est une pointure, avec un jeu varié et original. Les claviers (tenus par la jolie Božena Buinicka) sont prépondérants et omniprésents, avec quelques soli pas piqués des hannetons. Avec deux guitares (sans parler des invités), les instruments à cordes ne sont pas en reste non plus, avec de bien beaux soli Gilmourien (en ce qui concerne Jonas Ciurlionis). Bien sûr, les aficionados voudront savoir ce qu'il en est des autres invités : Tony Spada, guitariste d'Holding Pattern officie sur 2 titres, avec ses volutes de guitares si particuliers. Dave Kilminster, guitariste de Roger Waters officie également sur 2 titres et joue aussi de la guitare acoustique. Snake Davis agrémente
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Ferrum.lt (Lithuania)
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THE SKYS „Colours Of The Desert“ (išleista grupes) P.S. Dar vienas leidinys – gal ir netinkantis pri...THE SKYS „Colours Of The Desert“ (išleista grupes) P.S. Dar vienas leidinys – gal ir netinkantis prie metalo, bet tikrai idomus prog rock atlikeju THE SKYS „Colours Of The Desert“ albumas. Puikus skambesys, nepriekaištingas atlikimas ir kurybingos dainos. Albumas irašytas Vilniuje ir Londone. Albumo irašyme be grupes nariu dalyvavo nemažai žinomu muzikantu (John Young, Dave Kilminster ir dar keletas), tad skambantis muzikos irašas atitinka aukšciausius standartus. Kokybiška ir leidyba, nors albumas išleistas pacios grupes. Vienas geriausiu 2011 metu lietuviu gitariniu albumu.
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Cosmos Music
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The Skys vient de Lituanie, ce qui déja est assez exceptionnel en soi, et s’inspire fortement de ce ...The Skys vient de Lituanie, ce qui déja est assez exceptionnel en soi, et s’inspire fortement de ce que Pink Floyd faisait au sommet de sa gloire, ce qui l’est beaucoup moins. Emmené a la guitare et au chant par leur leader Jonas Ciurlionis, le groupe s’est entouré d’invités plus ou moins prestigieux, a commencer par la belle Anne-Marie Helder (Mostly Autumn, Panic room) et Dave Kilminster, guitariste virtuose, trcs demandé par les stars du prog comme Roger Waters ou Keith Emerson. Colours Of The Desert est une oeuvre magique et paradoxale : jamais autant réussie que quand elle utilise les bonnes vieilles recettes du Floyd, mais jamais aussi intéressante que quand elle s’en éloigne. Le tout devenant alors une sorte de Eloy ultradynamique penchant vers les Who dans les moments les plus rugueux. Les claviers, trcs en verve, virevoltants et vivaces, sont assurés par une jeune musicienne aussi blonde et gracile que talentueuse et compétente quand elle collabore aux compos (9, de 3 a 10 minutes). Incroyablement plus brillant, imaginatif et accrocheur que son devancier, Colours Of The Desert est donc une belle occasion de plonger, peut-ztre pour la premicre fois, dans la chaleur du progressif lituanien...
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PostModern Game review
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I don't come across many bands from Lithuania, and at the moment I am hard pressed to think of any, ...I don't come across many bands from Lithuania, and at the moment I am hard pressed to think of any, but here we have The Skys with their third album which was released in 2004. They are well - known in their own country and with a song on the latest Melos Progcast they will probably gain a bit more attention from the West. This is prog music that is influenced both by early Pink Floyd and early ELP and sounds very much as if it has come out of the early Seventies. Part of that is due to the vocals of Jonas Ciurlionis who has a rough and raw almost bluesy approach to the music, with more than a hint of Tom Waits or Dan McCafferty. This does give the overall sound an edge that is often missing from some prog which can appear bland in comparison. This is hard hitting and emotive stuff and even though there are two guitarists it isn't as hard and heavy as one might expect. They do allow themselves to wander off in different directions and there are times when they bring in some acoustic guitars to provide balance and to allow the others to play off. Elements of The Doors, and The Nice and the result is something that may not be very accessible but that does reward those that are willing to make the effort.
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DanielF Por rocksinfonico.com
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La lista de temas este album se compone de : 1. Post Modern Game: El tema comienza con una introducc...La lista de temas este album se compone de : 1. Post Modern Game: El tema comienza con una introducción de guitarras muy elaborada, me recuerda a introducciones logradas por Pink Floyd en otras épocas, acompanado por una voz rasgada acorde con la melodia, con cortes que dejan lucir el sonido de las guitarras. 2. Chicago Bum: El segundo tema, presenta una buena estructura a partir de la mitad del mismo, con el logro de ciertos climas que permiten dejar relucir realmente lo bueno de la banda. 3. Waiting For The Light: El tercer tema y nuestro preferido, comienza como una delicada melodia y una voz impecable a cargo de Jonas, para Waiting for the Light (un tema imperdible que se puede escuchar algun pasaje a través de un archivo Mp3 que se encuentra en la pagina web del grupo), presenta un solo de guitarra acompanado por una bateria que marca el ritmo hacia un cierre final hacia un impecable trabajo de guitarras. Toda la fuerza de The Skys para una pieza memorable. 4. Mommy's Son: El cuarto tema sale de lo que la banda nos tiene acostumbrados, con buenos pasajes y cortes que llevan a distintos solos de guitarra, muy interesante y agradable, incluso permite escuchar una faceta distinta a lo que el grupo nos tiene acostumbrados. 5. D-minor: Este tema retorna a la linea musical del grupo, con introducciones que le brindan una estética y una identificación a la banda, y lo conducen hacia una linea muy personal y propia del grupo, su duración es de mas de cinco minutos, compuesta por variaciones musicales de alto vuelo. 6. Broken Sounds Of Truth: Este es uno de los clasicos de la Banda, con un comienzo electrizante, con pasajes que dejan lugar a una voz maravillosa impuesta por Jonas en los momentos de mayor altura musical, una canción que se debe ubicar entre las grandes realizaciones musicales del genero. 7. Virtual Reality: La canción nos muestra una introducción de piano con una bateria que marca un clima muy a tono con su letra, una canción radiante donde se intercala el sonido de una guitarra clasica, con la aparición de una voz femenina muy clara y que nos transporta hacia un desenlace tan apacible como fue su comienzo. 8. from Idaho: En la canción que cierra este CD, se vuelve a notar una buena introducción de la guitarra esta vez junto a un coro muy suave, con un estilo muy propio y con partes instrumentales de alta calidad. Realmente este material de The Skys forma parte de grandes aportes musicales que las grandes Bandas nos suelen deleitar. Les recomendamos que escuchen esta gran pieza de este grupo Lituano, que a través de su tercera realización marca un estilo muy particular y de alto contenido musical. No dejen de visitar su pagina www.theskys.com y si tienen la posibilidad de adquirir esta verdadera pieza de colección. Le agradecemos a THE SKYS por habernos deleitado con el envio de este importante material discografico.
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First international press review
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Si ca am auzit cintind o formatie buna de metal-rock (in maniera progresiva) (Ionas Ciurlionis) care...Si ca am auzit cintind o formatie buna de metal-rock (in maniera progresiva) (Ionas Ciurlionis) care au afirmat ca ar accepta sa vina sa cinte si la noi, daca le vom oferi conditii interesante."
