Grey Skies Fallen - Molded By Broken Hands

Angry Metal Guy

There was a time when setting up a couple microphones and plugging in some line cables could yield an acceptable level of kvlt, capable of moving serious stacks of cassette tapes. These days things are more laborious; pre-production, tracking, retracking, multiple stages of post-production, all involving different professionals in different studios in different towns. New York doom metal veterans Grey Skies Fallen have been around the block a few times—since 1999 to be exact—and they know the right people to surround themselves with to craft a good album. With tracking duties helmed by none other than Mr. Menegroth himself Colin Marston, and post handled by Dan “The fucking MAN” Swanö my hopes were high for the band’s sixth full-length Molded By Broken Hands. Grey Skies Fallen know how to wrap a package, but is there substance beneath the surface?

Grey Skies Fallen have managed to fly under the radar here at AMG, despite releasing music for nearly a quarter century. While previous albums saw the band leaning into the more aggressive side of death-doom, the return of founding guitarist Joe D’Angelo has yielded a record steeped in the weepy sadboi doom of My Dying Bride and November’s Doom. Frenetic riffs sharpened with blast beats have given way to melody-driven harmonized guitar leads, and while Rick Habeeb’s impressive roar is still on display, there are more plaintive cleans here than usual for a Grey Skies Fallen record. Also notable for the band is the absence of keyboards, with only a few supporting synth performances by Marston. Although Swanö’s signature rich production creates a vast soundscape for Molded By Broken Hands, this is a leaner, more exposed version of Grey Skies Fallen, and that doesn’t always work out in their favor.

Molded By Broken Hands by GREY SKIES FALLEN

So much of Molded By Broken Hands feels like the band took one step forward and two steps back. Habeeb’s harsh vocals are on-style for massive doom, but his cleans aren’t nearly as strong, clashing with the energy of the band (“No Place for Sorrow”) or straining the limits of tuning (“Save Us”). The band show maturity in using minimal material per track, but they also have a fondness for unexpectedly shifting tempo or meter, creating a whiplash listen (“Molded By Broken Hands,” “No Place For Sorrow,” “I Can Hear Your Voice”). Seamless rhythmic transitions would help round out the edges here, but the drum parts often feel hesitant and too far behind the beat, almost as if the drummer wasn’t completely comfortable with the part being recorded (“A Twisted Place In Time,” “Molded By Broken Hands,” “No Place For Sorrow”). This is particularly egregious in the open, exposed moments of the title track, with far too much cymbal work filling the gaps in the music, when restraint might have lent some breathing room to both the song and listener.

It’s a shame because there are some bright spots hidden in Molded By Broken Hands. The guitars—particularly the melodic leads—by Habeeb and D’Angelo are noteworthy, shining in the coda of “A Twisted Place In Time” and standout closer “Knowing That You’re There.” The strings—credit to Ben Karas—that are so heavily featured in the album’s bookends are missed in the interior; their contrast with the weightiness of the band provides a welcome dynamic. 6 of the 7 tracks here approach 7 minutes in length, and while long-form is idiosyncratic to the style, it’s notable how strong of a cut “Cracks in Time” is. At a svelte 4:30 the riffs and melodies are distilled down to their purest form, the drums finally lock into step with the other instruments, and the band refuses to let the track overstretch itself. It’s telling that this is the only advance single available on Bandcamp, and thusly the embed; the band know where their strengths lie, but the final package doesn’t celebrate them.

I’m greatly vexed by Molded By Broken Hands. Grey Skies Fallen seem to have so many things going for them on the surface, from their musical maturity to their choice of recording partners. But the proof is in the pudding, and something went awry in the recipe for this album; it was difficult for me to get through a listen without asking myself “why?” track to track. Hopefully, the band can find a way to tighten up their recording and focus on their strengths on subsequent albums, but until then, I’d recommend looking elsewhere for your glorious sadboi fix.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Profound Lore | Bandcamp
Websites: facebook.com | Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: March 8, 2024

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