Slovenian heavy metal band, SkyEye, will release their new studio album, New Horizons, on July 19 via Reaper Entertainment.
Some bands play heavy metal. Some bands are heavy metal. Enter Slovenian powerhouse SkyEye, the best example of category two one could wish for. With their third record, New Horizons, just around the corner, the sworn brotherhood is officially and successfully applying for the role of heavy metal’s latest and most courageous defenders of the faith, a force of steel that was simmering ever since it started out back in 2014.
These past years, SkyEye have wasted no time in stating their claim of becoming heavy metal’s next global ambassadors. And that in itself is no small feat for a band from Slovenia with its vibrant yet internationally shamefully under-represented scene. But fear not, SkyEye are gonna change that – with vigour, stamina, and some of the best traditional heavy metal you have heard in a long time. “The whole band consists of passionate metalheads”, mastermind Jan Leščanec emphasises. “The seed of heavy metal was planted in our youths and we nurture it since then.”
Founded back in 2014 as a band of brothers wishing to play the music they love, things quickly picked up pace. Their debut Digital God served as a first warm-up round in 2018, gigs and confidence followed suit. Ever since their 2021 release Soldiers of Light, their debut for Reaper Entertainment, SkyEye rose to prominence beyond Slovenian borders as well, winning fans worldwide, taking the band closer to the top step by thundering step. Today, SkyEye consist of Jan Leščanec (vocals), Marko Kavcnik (guitars), Urban Železnik (guitars), Primoz Lovsin (bass) and Jurij Nograsek (drums). A five-piece ready to take on the world.
Their latest offering, New Horizons, sets a huge exclamation mark behind this iron will of spreading the gospel of true heavy metal: SkyEye combine the grandeur of Iron Maiden with the punch of Judas Priest and the youthful vigour present on the first Hammerfall – indeed their latest album very much feels like the Swedes’ 1997 breakthrough album Glory to the Brave in terms of zeal and ambition. No doubt: A new power has risen in the east, a heavy metal thunderstorm screaming with vengeance and hell-bent on taking the throne of traditional steel. New Horizons is their crown jewel in an already impressive collection, following the prestigious “Newcomer Of The Year” award by Metal Hammer magazine back in 2021. “That was quite the shock for us – in a positive way,” Jan laughs. “We did not expect it to happen in a million years. It was and forever will be a great honour and a confirmation that we are on the right path and of course it is a huge boost for our motivation in the future.”
No doubt: New Horizons happily exceeds the expectations glued to that award. “The new album is a continuation of what we’ve established as a band in the past years,” Jan states. “Every song on the album is its own world and carries its own story.” As the uplifting title already hints, this one is about new beginnings, big changes and gigantic challenges, a record full of blistering riffs, jubilant screams, thundering drums and soaring melodies. “This took the band members on a journey to find new horizons,” the vocalist says. It also meant that founding member and main driving force in the band’s early days, Grega Stalowsky, needed to step aside to let the band fully grow and blossom. “He is the true metal warrior and we know the decision was not easy for him to make,” Jan says, “but we fully support his decision to step off the train. With that in mind we wanted to make the best album to date. To be completely honest, there were some hard times during the making of the album because Grega was on his way out. But we persevered. It’s indeed as the saying goes: The pearl is born from the pain.” As a farewell gift and a sign of his enduring legacy, three of the album’s eleven tracks are written by Grega.
While the opener “The Descenders” already is a hot-blooded and massive beast of a song, lead single “Railroad of Dreams” serves as the best introduction to this band – a compact and melodic uptempo song retelling the heroic journey that lead SkyEye to this point. Jan: “This train is a metaphor for the decade long of our band that has taken us through thick and thin and towards these new horizons.” Equally storming and crushing, yet a tad more dark, “Far Beyond” is a fiery and galloping brand of heavy metal that ticks all the boxes of majestic storytelling. And while “Nightfall” crosses classic era Helloween vibes with a mystical and primordial aura, it’s the title track that’s pulling all the stops in terms of an epic, huge metal anthem, connecting the themes from this fierce third release with that of the debut. Mark that one for your top picks of the year already!
SkyEye may have been around for a decade already. And yet New Horizons feels like a genuine beginning, like a first milestone of many more to come. Be there to witness the start of something truly spectacular. You will regret it later if you don’t. And that’s a promise. Or, as the band puts it: “We are more than happy with this record and we hope that the fans will enjoy listening to it as much as we do. In the name of SkyEye, let there be heavy metal!” Amen.
Tracklisting:
"The Descenders"
"Fight!"
"Far Beyond"
"Railroad of Dreams"
"Saraswati"
"New Horizons"
"The Voice from the Silver Mountain"
"Forgotten Nation"
"Nightfall"
"The Emerald River"
"1917"
"Nightfall" video:
"Far Beyond" lyric video:
"Railroad of Dreams" video:
Lineup:
Jan Lescanec - Vocals
Marko Kavcnik - Guitar
Urban Zeleznik - Guitar
Primoz Lovsin - Bass
Jurij Nograsek - Drums
