Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

SKYWARD

Acuity

Symphonic Prog


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Acuity Skyward album cover
2.05 | 15 ratings | 4 reviews | 13% 5 stars

Write a review

Buy ACUITY Music
from Progarchives.com partners
Studio Album, released in 2004

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Vector (5:27)
2. State of the Art Love Song (3:55)
3. Transcendence (Culture of Hospice) (14:45)
4. Milwaukee - An Essay on Morbid Hysteria (22:00) :
- i. Tick
- ii. Not One of My Better Days (Tired)
- iii. The Milwaukee Song
- iv. Tock
- v. Pages
- vi. That's Entertainment
- vii. Shit-Eating Grin
- viii. Titan
- ix. Olympus Rising / Denouement
5. Cul-de-sacs of Venus (4:23)
6. Voyager (17:21) :
- i. Curvature
- ii. Skyward
- iii. Go Forth, Son of Mother Earth
- iv. Ever-Weightless (including The Cosmic Waltz)

Total Time 67:51

Line-up / Musicians

- Bradley Styes / all music & lyrics
- Matthew Parmenter / violin (5)

Releases information

CD Retrograde RR-0401 USA 2004

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
Edit this entry

Buy ACUITY Skyward Music



ACUITY Skyward ratings distribution


2.05
(15 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(13%)
13%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(20%)
20%
Good, but non-essential (27%)
27%
Collectors/fans only (20%)
20%
Poor. Only for completionists (20%)
20%

ACUITY Skyward reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Dan Bobrowski
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
1 stars I've always appreciated gifts and like my mother always told me, "It's the thought that counts." Indeed, mother, I learned and I appreciated the thought. Many thanks to the friend who sent this disc to me.

Unfortunately, aside from a short violin solo by Matthew Parmenter that could have elevated this gift to two stars, I just can't get myself to rate it that high. Some albums would be better off as instrumental showcases, this is one. The singing is so cringe-wrothy as to make it completely unlistenable. Simon Cowell would have tossed the singer on his ear during the first audition. Maybe Mr Styes should have paid Matthew Parmenter to lend his voice to the production. I've tried to make my way through it numerous times, but my finger stabs at the eject button quicker than a liberal going for his wallet at a Clinton fundraiser.

The musician, Bradley Styes, is extremely talented on various keyboard instruments, bass, guitar and drums. The bass, nice Ric tone, cuts through the mix. Acoustic guitars ring sweetly on many tracks, a highlight I guess. The drumming is competent. Guitar leads have a metal edge but don't have any depth or creative impact. Mr. Styes is very talented, however, the music comes off as very derivative, sometimes campy in the use of the therimin. Directionless. The production is poor, at best, very muddy. Tweaking the EQ did little to improve the experience.

The lyrics are horrid. Check this out, "Can't sleep at night, Can't urinate right." Guffaw! Can you believe that line? There is plenty more like that as well. "I pray for my health in one hand and [&*!#] in the other." Egad. There are Jeffrey Dahmer inspired lyrics, a diatribe against media over-exposure. Silly robots and space explorer poems.

Maybe the next project will be better, he has loads of talent. A good producer could make this into something of a higher quality. Oh, yeah, hire a good vocalist or stick to instrumentals.

Spend your money elsewhere, but always be thankful for unexpected gifts.

Latest members reviews

2 stars Review - #30 (Acuity - Skyward) Just because an album attempts to do everything right in the eyes of the progressive rock community, it doesn't always mean it will turn out as successfully as hoped. Acuity is an American prog project started by multi- instrumentalist Bradley Styes who seems to p ... (read more)

Report this review (#2630835) | Posted by Prog Zone | Thursday, November 4, 2021 | Review Permanlink

1 stars This is the kind of release that should never have seen the light. On the other hand, it allows you to better appreciate things that ARE well produced; you have a comparison point that makes you understand the difference between bad and good! OK, let's dissecate a bit this Acuity that doesn't ... (read more)

Report this review (#711570) | Posted by Music By Mail | Friday, April 6, 2012 | Review Permanlink

4 stars A new outfit based out of Detroit is showing progressive rock is alive and well today. While they don't explore any new ground(who does anymore?) they create some of the best progressive sounds that we epitimize the genre with today. The music here is complex, dark and sinister and all the whi ... (read more)

Report this review (#32281) | Posted by Greg W | Saturday, November 27, 2004 | Review Permanlink

Post a review of ACUITY "Skyward"

You must be a forum member to post a review, please register here if you are not.

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.