Hailing all the way from Dublin, Ireland, and South East England, progressive metal act Shattered Skies are truly a band on the up-and-up. Formed in 2011, the 4-piece band have since released several albums and EPs, and have played with artists such as Dimmu Borgir, Alice Cooper, Animals As Leaders, and Machine Head (just to name a few). And in anticipation of their forthcoming record Muted Neon (out November 16th), the prog-tastic wunderkinds have just released this full-band playthrough for the track “Shut In”!
We always love seeing the whole band get in on the action for a good playthrough, and these dudes pull it off without a hitch! The song is a great mix of catchy, heavy, and overall progressive elements, and is sure to make its way into your ear and stay there. The video was filmed by the talented Tabula Rasa, and the song was mixed/mastered by the band’s very own drummer, Ross McMahon.
About the track, guitarist Ian Rockett had this to say:
“Musically, “Shut In” is a major exercise in tightness, precision, and relentless rhythmic experimentation. It took a while for us all to get up to speed to be able to play this song start to finish as it never lets up once it gets going. The guitar parts are pretty intricate with a lot of fast licks that constantly switch mode for different sections of the song. The bass and drums are locked into a lot of different patterns which get hypnotic as the song progresses. Harmonically I wanted to create a dark vibe in the verses, a more open and epic feel in the choruses and a very aspirational and triumphant vibe in the midsection, so you can really feel the movement along with the lyrics.”
For all you gearheads out there (welcome to Gear Gods, by the way), here’s a list of the goods used on this banger:
- .strandberg* Boden8 8-string guitar through a Hughes & Kettner Switchblade
- Ibanez SR1605-NTF 5-string bass recorded direct in
- Mapex Armory Drums and Sabian HHX/AAX Cymbals
- Audio Technical AT2020 microphone
Don’t’ forget to pre-order Muted Neon on the group’s Bandcamp, as well as hit ’em up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all your proggy needs. You’ll definitely be seeing more of these guys in the coming months, so stay tuned.
