You Can Be My Wave

It's a shame the short-lived Fort Worth, Texas band, Sky Eats Airplane, never really found their footing. The project began with a self-produced Nintendocore debut that seemed to have gotten a lot of attention in online spaces, although it never was able to make a connection with me despite numerous attempts. After a series of personnel changes, things came to an end with a lackluster three-song EP and the announcement of an indefinite hiatus. There was a spell in the middle, however, where the band had the keys for success. Composer and guitarist Lee Duck assembled the band's first full lineup that included guitarist Zack Ordway, bassist Johno Erickson, and drummer Kenny Schick. He also recruited vocalist Jerry Roush, who notably had no previous experience fronting a band, to replace original singer Brack Cantrell. Together, the band really refined their sound, combining metalcore with tasteful electronics, hyper-melodic hooks, and brain bending mathy excursions. The result was the eponymous sophomore album; a record that had the strong mission statement of a debut, but also had the benefit of hindsight. Right from the beginning, it was clear to me that this record was a masterpiece, and revisiting it fifteen years later has revealed that this fact has not changed.

Sonically, Sky Eats Airplane covers a lot of bases all while maintaining a staggering level of consistency and cohesion. The djent-styled breakdowns are relentlessly heavy as exhibited best on tracks like Numbers or Disconnected. The melodic moments reach epic proportions, especially at the conclusion of most of the tracks here (but namely Transparent and Photographic Memory). As I previously said, the electronics were incorporated in a much more subtle way when compared to their debut, but the moments where the band does break out the Nintendocore (like towards the beginning of The Artificial) wound up being a lot of fun without feeling terribly forced and hokey. The record overall is quite mathy and technical, but the band does a great job of not letting the chaos boil over into inaccessible territory. The only exception is Machines which does reach Dillinger Escape Plan levels of madness. There's even a tender power ballad that records of this time and genre often pigeonholed into the tracklist. The difference here is that In Retrospect is actually really good. Where most bands would go 'clean,' Sky Eats Airplane keeps the high-gain distortion. In conjunction with the sluggish pace and jazzy chords, this track has a very satisfying shoegaze quality. Only a couple tracks stay in a specific lane, but most weave in and out of the various modes mentioned above. Their ever-changing song progressions keep me at attention for the entire duration of the record; never a dull moment.

The performances on this record are also top notch. Duck and Ordway's guitar playing can occasionally border on virtuosic. Transparent opens with a pretty epic lead melody, Disconnected has some pretty mesmerizing circular riffs, and Machines showcases some pretty wild shredding and sweeping techniques. I'm also a huge fan of Roush's vocals. Some could say that his inexperience as a vocalist at this time manifests in a lack of personality. He really only has one mode when it comes to his harsh vocals, and his clean singing doesn't have anything in the way of vibrato or other notable affectations. However, I think his vocals perfectly compliment the busy and detail-oriented nature of Sky Eats Airplane's instrumentals. Had his voice exhibited too much personality, I think it would detract from the overall presentation. The important thing is that his warm tone, and his pitch are all on point. Probably my favourite aspect is that this is a total drum record; probably a top ten drum record. Aside from the impeccably tight performances, Schick's drum parts are some of the most creative I have heard. When you catch the attention of drummers like Travis Orbin (who would eventually replace Schick after leaving the band), you know you have someone really special behind the kit.

I think it's pretty easy to overlook or even dismiss Sky Eats Airplane. This brand of metalcore felt very saturated at the time; it felt like every band of this nature was getting scooped up by Equal Vision or Rise Records. What I hope more people realize is that Sky Eats Airplane should be recognized as the cream of the crop. If this album managed to slip by you all those years ago, you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot if you are a fan of these genres.