This is the sixth album from Grey Skies Fallen, a progressive/melodic doom band from the US.
Following on from 2014’s The Many Sides of Truth and 2020’s Cold Dead Lands comes Molded by Broken Hands, which contains 48 minutes of new material.
On Cold Dead Lands I felt that Grey Skies Fallen had stepped up a level, delivering their most enjoyable and accomplished album to date. Well, I’m pleased, (and a little surprised), to say that Molded by Broken Hands continues this upward trajectory, delivering a well-rounded and professional album that raises the bar once more for the band. I have had a soft spot for Grey Skies Fallen for some time, so it’s great to hear them putting out such good material.
The songs pack in a lot of content, and the entire album is engaging and easy to like. It has a strong foundation of rich emotive melodies and dark, enticing, gloomy atmosphere, both of which are well-rendered and well-used throughout. The songwriting is expressive and textured, balancing depth and catchiness in good ratios that make for enduring tracks. Absent from Cold Dead Lands, but incorporated here, are synths, keyboards, and strings. These add extra layers of feeling, and twinned with the band’s evocative leads, means that there’s an orchestral and/or melodic grandeur to parts of Molded by Broken Hands that’s striking and affecting.
Essentially, this is a strong collection of tracks that showcases an experienced band at the top of their game. Molded by Broken Hands is quality through and through. If you want a band that combines elements of Paradise Lost, Godthrymm, Pallbearer, Amorphis, Isole, Katatonia, Barren Earth, My Dying Bride, Fires in the Distance, and Hamferð, in charismatic ways, then Grey Skies Fallen are for you. The band keep going from strength to strength and Molded by Broken Hands is a triumph of skill and passion.
Wonderbox Metal 