Tearing Down Your Blue Skies is technically Diecast’s third release, but I like to think of it as their debut.Not to cast aside the band’s first couple of releases featuring original vocalist Colin Schleifer, but I feel as if the band reached its true potential with Paul Stoddard as their frontman. My reason for saying so is the CD.
The opening track, Fire/Damage, opens gently with a short acoustic segment before Stoddard screams “Fire, Damage” at the top of his lungs. The song obviously leaves that acoustic moment behind as it unloads in a deluge of thick guitar riffs and pounding drums. The chorus is bad-ass simply due to Stoddard’s screaming and his swinging between growls and screams and clean vocals.
This changing between dirty and clean vocals is in virtually every track on the album. ‘Seize the Day’ opens that very way; scream a few words, sing a few, repeat.
Unfortunately, that might be the one drawback: the repetition. The songs come off sounding a little like what came before it. Screams alternate with clean, melodic vocals while the drums unload in the background with omnipresent heavy metal guitar riffs. Not bad, but after a while, you start to notice the similarity between tracks.
‘Sacrifice’ opens differently, with a high guitar riff and a “build-up” feeling coming from the drums. As the song rolls on, the double-bass kicks begin and the way it’s done is what makes the song stand out. It can’t really be explained; you’ll just have to listen to it.
The highlight of the CD, I think, is ‘Rebirth.’ Opening with a light, airy guitar riff, the song explodes with double-bass pedals consuming the track. Stoddard’s screaming is coupled with the bass kicks for the first verse and it’s his dirty/clean vocal swinging that combines with the guitar, as the drums take a backseat, for the chorus. The song is bad-ass. And after you learn the words for the breakdown sequence, you’ll scream with it the next time the track plays. Trust me.
I purchased the re-release a couple of years ago, so I was able to enjoy three additional tracks that didn’t feature in the album’s debut. This included their cover of Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood.’ Simply, it’s an awesome cover and it’s a lot of fun to listen to.
The same can be said for the whole album. It’s heavy, it’s fun, and there’s some good stuff to listen to. Some will like it, others may not. I suggest you give them a listen and find out.
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