Bavarian quartet Smoke The Sky has been conspicuously absent from recorded output since its self-released 2012 debut, Leave This World Loud. The danger with such a hiatus is that any momentum gained can quickly be lost, but with a powerful sound it’s often recoverable.
On a dirty, bluesy riff that hops around a mix of harmonised and growled vocals, sophomore album The Human Maze (self-released) begins with the curious but addictive ‘Avoid the Void’. ‘Mephisto’ continues the blend of heavy bluster and atmospheric melody, a sinister but catchy chorus backed by some intricate guitar work and evoking a heavier, more artful Stone Sour.
‘Skysucker Inc’ maintains the groove, a rapped verse rescued by a melodic yet punchy chorus. It’s a touch dated, however, and similarly ‘The Engineers’, whilst blending softness with anger, misses a sense of energy. It’s also somewhat overlong, which is an argument against quite of few of the songs here, despite ‘It’s Human’ introducing an indolent bounce.
‘Raw Is The Law’ is the album’s low point: despite vicious guitar chops, it’s a largely uninspired, trite amalgam of Pantera and anthemic metal’s worst excesses which is epitomised by opening line “Raw, Raw, Is the fucking law”. ‘Frankinsmoke’ is a much better effort, a Days of the New-style acoustic number which is full of emotion (if still a little clunky lyrically): while ‘Iron Sun’ is a brutally heavy workout full of time changes and more expert leadwork.
The drums of ‘Mr Chaos’ pound through the heart, while Kris’s melodic vocals really come to the fore. The ensuing ‘The Night’ also shows class, the quieter verses and driven yet tuneful choruses bringing to mind Mӧtley Crüe’s bigger, beefier moments. Unfortunately ‘Time to Die Again’ reinforces that comparison in style but not in quality, more of Mikk’s powerful drumming and electrifying guitar masking a disjointed closer which has the potential to explode but never really does.
It’s truly frustrating: this album is great in some areas, but horribly clichéd and poorly executed in others, and despite a clutch of huge influences being evident the rough too often outweighs the smooth.
5.0/10.0
PAUL QUINN