Skyliner

BIOGRAPHY:

From Jacksonville, Florida, SKYLINER was born in 2000 when aspiring vocalist/guitarist Jake Becker and drummer Ben Brenner, both 14-16 years of age and having met at a local youth group, decided to form a band to exchange musical ideas and build on songwriting ideas Becker brought to the table early on. As both musicians matured together and finally found a stable line-up in 2004 with bassist Kyle Sweeney to mark their live debut and put together some modest demo recordings, it was clear that SKYLINER’s direction was that of passionate, pure, and forward-thinking heavy metal, a vast departure from the more contemporary sounds of other young bands in the local scene. Despite the first demo in 2005, ‘Light Comes Out Of Black’, being full of missteps, lack of confidence, and general inexperience, reviews on the band’s sound still found positive comparisons with raw, old-school American power metal such as early FATES WARNING, WARLORD, and ANGEL WITCH, as well as the German sounds of RAGE and RUNNING WILD. Having increased the gigging around Florida, and honing themselves as a live act to be reckoned with, SKYLINER unfortunately found activity slowed due to the challenge of maintaining a complete line up. Nonetheless, songwriting progressed ever-onwards, and with a full band once again in 2007 including Cody Lewis on keyboards and backing vocals, SKYLINER had a successful show at a showcase tent at Florida Cornerstone that year, and prepared to record the second self-titled demo. In late 2009, the second demo was released to reviews praising the music many times higher than the first effort, drawing comparisons to European power metal institutions FALCONER, RUNNING WILD, GRAVE DIGGER, and LABYRINTH, and nods to the stylings of KING CRIMSON and PINK FLOYD being echoed in SKYLINER’s oft-linear, but experimental if needed, approach to the old and new school blend of metal their style had solidified into. In addition, Jake Becker’s lyrical prowess was now in full display, showcasing an in-depth, unorthodox approach for the genre to different spiritual, emotional, and societal topics. From anthemic, mid-paced pounders, to steely, atmospheric softer work, and on to emotionally charged heavy power metal, there is something for anyone with a fist firmly raised to enjoy - scars and tears all intact. Bass virtuoso David Lee Redding rounds out the anthemic riffs and searing leads of SKYLINER with a plethora of textures and melody from every corner of the music world. With a new lineup once again including keyboardist/backing vocalist Ashley Flynn, SKYLINER is preparing for their EP, ‘The Alchemist’, to once again take the band to a new level.


..Words for the self-titled demo.. :

"This demo, while unpolished and notably underproduced, is just full of galloping metallic glee and a healthy dose of the true metal spirit that I never get tired of....Classic metal riffs in the vein of the aforementioned Running Wild and Grave Digger fuel this demo with an energetic fire that makes songs like the hundred-mile-a-minute "Symphony in Black" and the rattling "Vendetta" absolutely first rate." - The Metal Crypt

"This is not music that can be pigeonholed into one specific subgenre or category. Rather, it is a melting pot of various styles of rock and metal..'Skyliner' is ten times as good as 'Light Comes Out Of Black'..." - Metal-Metropolis

"Instead of joining forces with a legion of metalcore neo-thrashers or cloning the plodding dogmatic Iron Maidenisms of Iced Earth, the independent heavy/power metal outfit Skyliner has taken a road less traveled in the USPM scene of late. Essentially you have most of the positive elements of Falconer, Running Wild, Queensryche, Fates Warning and Grave Digger all rolled into a nice little evenly mixed stew with a little bit of King Crimson and Pink Floyd topping to create a very unique taste that definitely deserves a closer look." - Metal-Archives/The Metal Observer (not yet added to TMO)

"Strong power metal with progressive and thrash overtones at times. The musicianship is very good and the song writing shows a lot of promise..Opening with the thundering ‘Symphony in Black,’ Skyliner isn’t fooling around. A fast and pounding composition that would grab any headbanger and throw him for a loop, ‘Symphony…’ will get ‘em up off their feet.." - White Throne


..Words for the mutation which is the 'Light Comes Out of Black' demo.. :

"This band combines classic NWOBHM of the early 80s with the Progressive Metal from the later 80s..(read: FATES WARNING)...fans of WARLORD and ANGEL WITCH will absolutely love this act a lot!" - StrutterZine (Holland)

"..Real, honest-to-goodness metal in the vein of Saint, Barren Cross, and Deliverance.." - Christian Metal Mayhem (USA)

"..I see a ton of potential in this band and anxiously await what they will come up with next. I can only imagine it will blow doors on this demo both in production and in songwriting. I am certainly glad that there are young musicians interested in writing heavy metal that doesn't follow the current trends in music." - NoLifeTilMetal (USA)

"..They have created a style of their own. They can write interesting tunes. They have plenty of potential.." - The Metal Metropolis (Norway)

"My wife walked in the room as it was playing and said, "Man...that guy can't sing worth a fart!" - The Whipping Post (USA)

"BTW...my wife just walked by again and asked...'Is that still that same guy? Why doesn't he just shut up?'" - The Whipping Post (USA)

"Jake stuffs his pants with socks.." - Pat, drummer of Demorior

"I think you need to like.... Go back into the coma from wence you came. The '80's were 20 years ago.... Your music is like listening to millions of cats getting it on while being chopped up in a blender. You need to just stop and find a different sound. Your bandana is lame without dreads." - Private MySpacer Nick Vanwey