A metalcore fan would appreciate SkyGrid’s Faultless Vision, the Los Baños-based band’s debut EP. The five-track EP brings together material from 2014 to 2019, mainly influenced by August Burns Red, Killswitch Engage, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Valley of Chrome, and the nu metal sound. Anyone listening to the EP wouldn’t think that SkyGrid started out as an alternative band in 2013, although a more discerning listener could probably hear remnants of their old genre.
The EP’s title Faultless Vision is a play on the phrase 20/20 vision, says vocalist John Marlet Salinas. The lyrics have spiritual intentions and are based on life experiences and enlightenment, hence giving the persona a ‘clear vision’ of things.
Faultless Vision opens with Forbidden, a Valley of Chrome-influenced heavy track with a melodic chorus. The ABR sound is apparent in some of the breakdown parts of Counter Clockwise and more so in Digmaan. Anito, the most promising of the tracks, begins with a bass line similar to Tool’s Forty Six & 2, from which bassist Laiza Rose Bolaños says she got the inspiration. After the bass-driven intro, the track thunders in with Rage Against the Machine-like drum beat and guitar riffs which are reminiscent of Bombtrack. The Tool vibe can be heard in the verse with the bass line and compressed vocals, and the interlude with the bass and drums. The final track and the EP’s carrier single Into the Storm rumbles in with percussive breakdowns that would persist throughout the song, as if the listener is being punched in the chest.
John Marlet’s growls are on point, but his melodic parts need a bit more polishing. The lyrics, though relatable, are left wanting in terms of depth and poetics. The crunchy guitar riffs of Marseille Mauricio and Jayson Enriquez and the almost-flawless hand and footwork of drummer Romnick Dosdos bleed metalcore and nu metal, and Laiza Rose plays bass like nobody’s business.
A relatively young band, SkyGrid remains open in terms of musical direction. The group is still exploring, finding out their own unique sound that would make them stand out from the hordes of local metalcore bands. If SkyGrid would pursue the nu metal/prog metal path, the band’s potential could be fully realized.
SkyGrid‘s Faultless Vision can be streamed via Spotify and Bandcamp.
