Mind Equals Blown

Sky Eats Airplane has given us a taste of their new lineup with, The Sound of Symmetry, a short 3 song EP. Ever since the departure of Jerry Roush (now front-man of post-hardcore outfit Of Mice and Men) people have been questioning if SEA was going to pull through. In order to fill Roush’s shoes, the band picked up vocalist Brian Zimmerman for the clean vocals, bassist Elliot Coleman for bass/scream duties,as well as replacement drummer Travis Orbin. That leaves guitarist Zack Ordway and Lee Duck the only two members from their successful self-titled 2008 release. With 3 new members, Sky Eats Airplane plan to continue onward with this 3 song EP and eventual full length. But will they be able to live up to the successes of their previous releases?

Nope. At least I don’t think so. I’ve been a huge Sky Eats Airplane fan over the recent years. I actually saw them in concert 5 different times in 2008. I’ve always been a fan, but after the departure of Jerry I knew it was over, and the release of The Sound Of Symmetry confirms it. I am not claiming that Jerry was the sole reason for the bands success, I just don’t think this new SEA lineup is making the right decisions…or making decisions to please old SEA fans. They are going down a path that I’m not excited about.

The easiest was for me to describe it, is this: The Sound Of Symmetry is the kid version of the last album. It isn’t as heavy, it isn’t as technical, it isn’t as engaging…it just lacks everything that made SEA unique. Screaming isn’t up to the level Roush set, which means they focus more on singing, which leads them to play more chords and softer guitars. On this EP, there was maybe a total of a minute (of out the 11 minutes here) that was as good as previous SEA songs have been. Its disappointing to say the least.

Biggest change was their lack of electronics. SEA was always the shining spotlight of hardcore bands that incorporated electronics into their music. They did it right when so many bands *coughattackattackcough* do it so, so wrong. SEA still does it right, the electronics still add an amazing level of atmosphere and emotion to the songs, but they didn’t utilize it as much as the previous releases.

The Sound Of Symmetry was weak. Its showing that SEA is getting softer. They aren’t being as experimental, as heavy or as interesting. I can only hope they step up their game for the full length. I know they can do it, even without Roush. We have two albums that prove they can. Lets just hope they do.

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