If you know Jim Matheos, you know he likes to alternate between heavy and mellow. The honcho behind the most long-running of contemporary progressive metal bands showed us his softer side with solo albums such as “First Impressions” and “Away With Words” in the 1990’s, and his fondness for ambient electronic music became evident in Fates Warning’s late 90s and early 2000s output. Creating music that reflects that fondness became an obvious next step when Matheos extracted those less metallic leanings from Fates Warning, and the mostly instrumental Tuesday the Sky stepped in, apparently to fill that void, in 2017 with a dreamy disc full of ambient post-rock dreaminess more akin to Sigur Ros than anything remotely metal.
The sophomore release from Tuesday the Sky is a continuation down the same path. Nearly devoid of vocals and entirely devoid of riffery, “The Blurred Horizon” is more interested in loops, reverb, and establishing moods than it is in making heads bang. And while there certainly is a fair bit of modestly distorted electric guitar noodling and pounding drums, they’re there strictly for texture. “Near Light,” for example, opens quietly and deftly swells into softly metallic bliss, while the tense “Hypneurotic” sees drummer Gavin Harrison – yes, that Gavin Harrison – playing two different parts on two different kits in a fit of percussive counterpoint. And that freaking title track legit has me wondering if Matheos has drawn any inspiration from Agalloch’s moodier moments; fans of the Oregon folk metallers are certain to hear eerie similarities to “The Hawthorne Passage.”
“The Blurred Horizon” won’t appeal to the metal purists who bemoan Fates Warning’s dabblings in non-metal genres. But fans who lose themselves in the sonic landscapes Matheos has so capably woven in his experimental whimsy will find Tuesday the Sky and its many moods to be a refreshing and rewarding listen.
Released by: Metal Blade Records
Release Date: September 3rd, 2021
Genre: Ambient, Electronica, Post Rock
Musicians:
- Jim Matheos / Guitars, keyboards
- Gavin Harisson / Drums
- Tim Bowness / Vocals
“The Blurred Horizon” track-listing:
1. Half Remembered
2. Near Light
3. Cwmwl
4. Where the Enemy Sleeps
5. Laudanum Dream
6. Hypneurotic
7. Later, Then Now
8. Near Dark
9. Half Forgotten
10. The Blurred Horizon
11. Everything Is Free
A well-composed and masterfully-played atmospheric record, full of subtlety and excellent melodies, “The Blurred Horizon” carries a welcoming sense of wonder over its songs, one that is intended to transport the listener to a place of ethereal tonal colors and peaceful memories
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Songwriting
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Musicianship
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Originality
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