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| Type | Album |
| Year | 1995 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Style | Space, Prog |
This is definetely thier most unique PT record ever released. It is also defacto their first record ever, cause before that, PT was basically Steven's solo project. He had some guest appearances of Colin on the previous album, but as far as I know, this is their first real album as a group. The atmosphere here is very characteristic and surprisingly far removed from anything we've heard before. It's a MAJOR improvement from the first two albums - this record is imo like A-Tier level good! It's ridiculous how better it sounds. And all because of the title track.
Speaking of which, the long-ass title track, stylised as a "prog epic" type of song really is one of the most immersive listens that you can ever get from this type of music. The Pink Floyd influences are apparent - the album is structured the same as Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" album. This comparison was even aknowlewledged by Steven himself, who said that he doesn't really enjoy "Sky Moves Sideways" that much nowadays, because of it's inherent derivative nature. There are also significant ambient influences which introduce very airy and ethereal vibe. But for me, really the best thing about the song is it's magnificent trance build-up, followed by a sick breakdown, that sounds just so full of tribal, livid madness. And then it returns to ambient guitar melodies, reminescent of the title. The second phase is also a pleasant listen, I especially like the wordless vocal part, cause it's SO UNLIKE the PT that we know after first albums! The track before the 2nd phase, "Prepare Yourself" is a cool treat. It has a very sick name and does a great job introducing the song! One thing I don't really care about this song it's is 30min alternative version that is found on the 2CD release. I've listened to it only a couple of times and I didn't even catch many differences apart from the duration being shorter and the main flute(?) motif being noticeably altered...
Other songs are not that great tbh. Well, "Dislocated Day" is kinda cool and catchy. It sounds very mystic and even evil at times, with the tangling main riff being surprisingly heavy. I also really enjoy "Stars Die", I think it really fits this album well, and it should be considered it's part, even tho I think it originally wasn't (?), but hey, it's on the version that I own! There's an interesing trivia about this song: it was inspired by Camel's wonderful 1971 tune called "Never Let Go". Interestingly enough, Opeth also did a song inspired by it! It's called "Benighted".
About the "Moonloop" jam which is also on the album, I really enjoy it. Very spacey, alien vibe. It blends the elements of ambient, voice sampling and pure instrumentation very well. What really stands out is the Colin's groovy bass work, which make this tracks for me. The "Coda" features a guitar melody that gets stuck in my head at the randomest of times! It's a fun track too. I also recommend you to listen to the full improvisation - "Transmission IV", as it's also really interesting.
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