STRANDED IN ARCADIA

3.5 stars. MARS RED SKY are a trio out of France with this unique sound where we get this incredibly heavy sound with the guitar down-tuned and it's just so ground moving in the Doom-Metal vein. Not a lot of that but the contrast is the higher pitched vocals that sometimes don't work for me but usually it's all good. Still like the followup to this "Apex III" there are too many moments where I want to skip whole sections leaving me feeling I can't in good conscience give this 4 stars. So I'm giving this the same rating as the followup but this is slightly better in my opinion. The debut is the one to get and I have it lined up to spend some time with in the coming weeks. Everything about the debut is way better. It's like they decided after their debut to go in a certain direction, more focussed on contrasting the heavy and lighter moments while the debut is just a killer consistent album, it's not close.

Maybe the best example of that heaviness is the opening track where it starts off quiet then man the thunder arrives in a BLACK SABBATH way 30 seconds in. My top three would include the two instrumentals(surprise) plus "Hovering Satellites" the best vocal track in my opinion. I just like the lyrics better on this one along with the vocals. Good contrasts too between the light and heavy. "Arcadia" is the first instrumental I really like, a powerful mid-paced piece that plods along. So heavy duty after 4 1/2 minutes. The closer "Beyond The Light" is the other instrumental to make my top three. I'm really not into "Holy Mondays", either the vocals or the chorus. Some keys in this one which is rare although we get some on the opener as well. Not big on "Circles" either or "Seen A Ghost" but when these guys get it right for my tastes man they are so good.

I'm looking forward to that debut in the coming weeks.