Review by JD on December 28, 2012.

Canadians more and more are showing strong metallic hearts...and how we can crank it out like no one else in many ways. Why do ya think I love being a Canadian?! It is not for the ‘warm’ winters we have. Anyways, I give you another impressive band from the prairies - a one man outfit playing some pretty nasty technical Death Metal with satanic leanings and a strong atmospherical quality. Lady-moshers and gentle-bangers I introduce for your metal enjoyment... Haiduk.

Crushingly heavy, venomous vocals that spout out about things that scare little children and caustic riffs that would make a Baptist minister run for cover... yep, Haiduk is Canadian Death Metal at its most brutal. This one man death machine seems to be making music that is shattering what it is to be Death Metal. This musician incorporates Thrash, Black and even some elements of Power Metal into the Atmospheric and Melodic Death Metal - the result is a dark and brooding speeding beast.

Looking at the album track list : I love 'Stormcall', a fiery explosive piece of metal that seems to melt your mind with its brute force, not to mention the nasty Black Metal inspired 'Black Winds' that is on the verge of loosening chaos and yet never loses its melodies that seem to let the song live and breath. One other song really does stand as the favorite of mine...'Hex' musicallly gives me a mental picture as if someone is running away with a drooling Demon from hell was hot on this person’s heels wanting to devour their soul and take it down into the brimstone home of the Unholy One. All I can say is... fuckin’ damn brilliant!!

Some of the way this was recorded is the only weak points in what Haiduk is doing. It does need a little more engineering, but the songs and music needs nothing. I just love this album, and I am off to find the demo that Mr. Luka Milojica and this project has previously released. If Luka can get a very good producer - I shutter in anticipation at how good that will be.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8.5
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 11, 2020.

Thematic perform a very interesting take on progressive metal with their newest release Skyrunner. The music here is endlessly creative with numerous twists and turns to be found. There is the use of other instrumentation like horns to add variety. The sound can be likened to other band like Fair to Midland, though this music is more metallic than said band.

Instead we have a complex album that has plenty of melodic moments strewn in to make things more accessible. The beauty of this album is in its unpredictability and it is very different than a lot of progressive metal out there. It has mostly clean singing which helps brings forth the more accessible portions of the album quite well. Fear not, this album is able to bring progressive bliss with a number of time changes and interesting instrumental sections added for good measure. Is there a flaw to be found here? Well, the music is a little too sweet sounding and could be a bit harsher at times. Still, the tunes are very ethereal sounding and can be compared to the likes of Caligula's Horse as well. There is simply so much interesting music on display that it may be difficult to interpret well on one listen. Instead, multiple listens are needed to absorb everything and eventually lead to a very interesting release. This is an early forerunner for one of the best albums of 2020 and highly recommended to progressive metal fans everywhere.

Songs like the title track are simply magical and draw you into their cloudy atmosphere quite well. The overall vibe of the album is one that is complex, yet accessible enough to digest with a number of listens. This is a wonderful album that could have been made even more compelling with more power put forth. Still, a strong recommendation comes with Skyrunner for sure.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 11, 2020.

Thematic perform a very interesting take on progressive metal with their newest release Skyrunner. The music here is endlessly creative with numerous twists and turns to be found. There is the use of other instrumentation like horns to add variety. The sound can be likened to other band like Fair to Midland, though this music is more metallic than said band.

Instead we have a complex album that has plenty of melodic moments strewn in to make things more accessible. The beauty of this album is in its unpredictability and it is very different than a lot of progressive metal out there. It has mostly clean singing which helps brings forth the more accessible portions of the album quite well. Fear not, this album is able to bring progressive bliss with a number of time changes and interesting instrumental sections added for good measure. Is there a flaw to be found here? Well, the music is a little too sweet sounding and could be a bit harsher at times. Still, the tunes are very ethereal sounding and can be compared to the likes of Caligula's Horse as well. There is simply so much interesting music on display that it may be difficult to interpret well on one listen. Instead, multiple listens are needed to absorb everything and eventually lead to a very interesting release. This is an early forerunner for one of the best albums of 2020 and highly recommended to progressive metal fans everywhere.

Songs like the title track are simply magical and draw you into their cloudy atmosphere quite well. The overall vibe of the album is one that is complex, yet accessible enough to digest with a number of listens. This is a wonderful album that could have been made even more compelling with more power put forth. Still, a strong recommendation comes with Skyrunner for sure.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10