Review: At the Skylines "The Secrets to Life" Released 5-08-12 RoadRunner Records

By: Jack Antonio
HAHAHAHA! Yeah, that's right! Jack is back. The man they call Jack Canada has managed to escape the gallows of his former existence as a blog writer for a certain website that shall remain nameless and has transformed himself.

"If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could ever imagine..."
So why am I here? A little birdie told me about a newly signed Roadrunner band called AT THE SKYLINES. They're just getting ready to launch their debut full length called "The Secrets to life". 

So, first off, why do all band names these days seem to be prepositional phrases? We'll come back to that in a minute. What you should expect to hear when you take a listen to this band is some nice face melting guitar riffage, bone crunching breakdowns, smooth as silk clean vocals, gutteral vocals to shake the foundations of hell, and shrieks that your mothers warned you about. But it doesn't stop there! The brilliance of this genre blending metalcore outfit from Huntington Beach, California is the odd left turns that they take into the realm of electronic dance pop. So, if you are into the sort of shit that BTBAM cranks out but like less prog in your soup, then ATS is just what the doctor ordered. And, like, who doesn't need a break from prog rock from from time to time??? I mean, I'm a busy guy! Sometimes I just don't don't have 12 minutes of free time to listen to a tune no matter how impressive the musicianship is! ATS has REASONABLE song lengths and enough changes in the flow to keep you from getting bored. Sorry, that's just my opinion ladies and gents!

So, back to prepositional phrases. In fact, I'm glad this band chose a prepositional phrase as a name. You see, the purpose of a prepositional phrase of this nature is to function as an adverb. Adverb style prepositional phrases tend to ask "How? When? or Where?". In this case the answer to these questions is literally "The Secrets to Life". Okay, so that was little too cheesy and overly dramatic. Perhaps a strong use of hyperbole. Just go pick up the damn album! You'll be glad you did.
I remain,
Jack "Canada" Antonio

Secrets to Life songs Lyricist: At the Skylines. Secrets to Life album 

Personnel: Chris Shelley, Mark Barela (vocals); Shawn Yates, Billy Barber (guitar); David Angle (drums). Secrets to Life CD music 

Audio Mixer: Fredrik Nordström. Secrets to Life music CDs 

Recording information: Studio Fredman, Vastra Frolunda, Sweden. Secrets to Life songs 

Illustrator: Glenn Thomas.

RoadRunnerRecords.com