Walk the Sky - s/t

Ok, first off let's just get the unpleasantries out of the way...the album cover on this disc sucks.  Plain and simple.  Good...now that that's out of the way, I must say that you can't judge a book by it's cover.  If I had found this in a used CD bin, I wouldn't have given it two seconds.  (The band might remember that next time around).  However, if you do take the time to sit down and listen to this disc, you'll be very surprised by the quality of metal it contains.  And despite the lame artwork, the band did enlist some quality by getting Ken Lee (Queen, U2, Eric Clapton) to master the disc.

Walk the Sky is the brainchild of Rick Hunter-Martinez (ex-Soldier, Regime).  And if you are familiar with Rick's previous two bands, you will not be shocked when I tell you this is '80's styled commercial metal.  While this style is definitely not the rage anymore, if you are going to go out on a limb and play this genre of music, you better do it well...and Walk the Sky does just that.  With a lead singer that sounds amazingly close to Michael Sweet of Stryper at times, Walk the Sky brings the goods with a mix that sounds like a cross between Stryper, Regime, and countless other bands of their time.  Even fans of the current band Theocracy should able to get into this band quite easily.  This is just shy of 45 minutes of blazing guitars riffs, soaring solos, powerful vocals, thunderous drums, melodic vocal harmonies, catchy choruses, and your obligatory sappy ballad.  They even include a rumbling, bluesy hard rocker called "Snake Eyes".  The songs here are the kind that will have you singing them in your head for hours after the music is done. 

Nice job guys...even if 99.9999% of the current fad-followers will never give you the time of day.

Rating: 78/100

Review By: Matt Morrow

Label: Independent

Total Songs: 11

Total Time: 44:23

Tracklisting: 1. Castles in the Sand, 2. Lay it on the Line, 3. Don't You Know What Love Is, 4. Snake Eyes, 5. Always Remember, 6. Face to Face, 7. Make Up Your Mind, 8. Touched By You, 9. Heart of Stone, 10. What You Need, 11. Love Comes Down.

Best Songs: Tracks 1, 2, 9, & 11.

Band Lineup: Rob Bonstin - Vocals, Rick Hunter-Martinez - Guitar/Vocals, Jeff Lemas - Drums, Tom Young - Bass.

Band Website: http://www.walkthesky.com