Days Before Tomorrow The Sky is Falling

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by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Concept albums are a tough animal to create. Sometimes, the story steers the songwriting, which basically can pollute the song and make it unlistenable. In Rock and Metal, you have to measure these attempts against Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime. That set the bar unbelievably high, because the songs can stand on their own, and, they flow and tell the tale when played in order. That’s exactly the makeup of a great concept album.

The New Jersey-based Days Before Tomorrow, a Progressive Rock/Metal group, have just released their take on concept albums with The Sky is Falling. In short, the story is about a brilliant recluse, Dr. Igal Tamarian, and his efforts to save the world by enlisting the help of aliens. The characters in the story have nick names, as Tamarian is The Archer, his ex-wife is The Bitch, the president of Earth is The Walker, and the savior of the planet and human race is Tomorrow … which isn’t a nick name. Regardless, there is a cast of characters Tamarian must work with and defeat, including his new love Kate, who is impregnated with an alien seed to give birth to a hybrid human/alien to save Earth, its ecosystem, and thusly, the human race.

The artwork and the CD liner is critical to understand the album’s concept. You simply cannot decipher the meaning behind phrases like “Thousands of lighters in the air,” without reading the storyline first. So, if you want to grade the album purely on its ability to tell a cosmic yarn sonically … the story is just too complicated to understand without doing your homework (reading the CD liner) first. This isn’t a criticism — just read the CD liner one time and it makes the music and the journey exponentially better.

The CD begins at the end, so to speak, with “Lighters.” Days Before Tomorrow are musical clinicians; they play a melodic and intricate form of Progressive music that is radio-friendly, especially because of lead singer Eric Klein’s warm, clear and soaring style. “Lighters” is the part in the story where Kate comes back to Earth with Tomorrow, and the world rejoices. So, the chorus of “Now we’re self aware, thousands of Lighters in the air,” carries a lot more weight than merely fans at a concert waving lighters around. This simple chorus is one of the best choruses you’ll ever hear; the band knew this, because the album ends with this chorus as a reprise.

“Wrong” probably owns the next best chorus you’ll hear this year. In this part of the story, Tamarian was ousted from his job, his wife (The Bitch) left him, and he’s wasted and looking for back-alley hooker sex, as a true hero should. When you get to the chorus, there is no possible way you won’t hear the similarity to Sheriff’s “When I’m With You,” especially since Klein sounds close to Fred Curci. They even match the “Baby …” part Sheriff rose to fame with. Anyway, with the rich keys swirling about, Derek Davodowich’s adept guitar leads and solos, and the crescendoing and powerful composition, this should be a hit for Days Before Tomorrow.

The title track, “The Sky is Falling” is one of the heaviest songs on the release, at least during the intro, although it flows into a more mid-tempo song once the vocals kick in. Bassist Rob Maziekien pulls the plow on this one; all of these guys are talented musicians. Tamarian, The Archer, who left Kate, is not going back to her and seeking her help. This all takes a bit of a demented spin next …

When you get to the song “Your Kate,” Kate wrote a letter for Tamarian, telling him that she is pregnant and doesn’t believe the alien inside her will save the Earth … so she commits suicide. Now, The Archer is in mourning, and wishing he could have told her exactly how he feels. Klein delivers these vocals with passion and sincerity, one of his brightest moments on The Sky is Falling.

Now incensed, The Archer realizes he was being used by The Walker, the president of Earth, to destroy the alien race. Kate’s death drives him to fearlessness. On “You’re Not the One,” The Archer is taking to the streets, leading the other Lighters, and a global war is about to commence. Story aside, the deft acoustic guitar playing shows another style that Days Before Tomorrow mastered. There is just a lot to consume as a listener, with the complexity of the compositions and the storyline, but it’s worth every second.

As you know, Kate comes back to Earth with Tomorrow. She faked her suicide to keep the baby safe, giving birth on another planet. The heroes win the day, and The Walker is banished to a life of solitude as his efforts to kill all of the aliens and stop Kate and Tamarian failed. “The Wasted Years III: The Silence is Deafening” is The Walker’s lot, as the lyrics note, “Suddenly, I’m along again. I’m alone.”

“Lighters (Reprise)” closed the story, with the refrain of “Thousands of Lighters everywhere …” wrapping up the story.

There you have it. The debut from a band who is artful both musically and conceptually, and who somehow takes a complicated story and make the songs stand apart on their own. If the songs were tethered too closely to each other, this wouldn’t be possible. Days Before Tomorrow took a chance that humans are not nearly as stupid we seem to be in this day and age, and if they are right, then The Sky is Falling should find success in a myriad of ways.

Label: Independent

Track listing:
1 Lighters
2 Wrong
3 Last Song
4 Can’t Go Back
5 Wasted Years I: Confrontation
6 Wasted Years II: Sleepwalking
7 In the Air
8 The Sky Is Falling
9 Can’t Do Anything
10 Survival
11 Your Kate
12 You’re Not the One
13 Wasted Years III: The Silence Is Deafening
14 Lighters (Reprise)

HRH Rating: 8.1/10