Methadone Skies: Different Layers of Fear Review

Methadone Skies is a post-rock stoner band celebrating their 10th anniversary and they chose to do so by releasing a pretty good slab of tunes. Different Layers of Fear runs over 70 minutes, focusing largely on repeated themes creating walls of music best suited for listening to while watching wrestling or studying.

The production job is well done, showcasing everyone nicely enough while ensuring the bass comes through strong. I am reminded a lot of Russian Circles and later Appleseed Cast. Guest vocals from Straccione of Shores of Null come in on one track near the end of the run, which are rather decent even if they're a bit jarring.

That's actually where one of my biggest issues rests.

After such an extended period of instrumental music, having the vocal section just felt out of place and honestly latest a bit longer than it should have. It's not that the vocalist was bad, either. It's just that it messed with the overall flow.

The only other issue I had was that I feel a better use of drone sequences would have helped the early portion blend better.

In truth, though, these are really minor nitpicks. Methadone Skies created a very good album with Different Layers of Fear and they should be proud of their accomplishment. Go show them some love here.

Rating: ***1/2