{"id":701773,"date":"2026-07-20T15:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T15:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/701773\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T15:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T15:39:11","slug":"review-galneryus-a-cry-from-the-sky-above","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/701773\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Galneryus – A Cry from the Sky Above"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Andy<\/a> on 2026\/07\/202026\/07\/20<\/p>\n

\"\"No artist credited \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

Style: Power Metal, Progressive Metal (Clean Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Unlucky Morpheus<\/a>, Versailles, (Luca Turilli\u2019s) Rhapsody (of Fire), Stratovarius
Country: Japan
Release date: 15 July 2026<\/p>\n

Vanishingly few artists have escaped this reality: after enough time, the creative well runs dry. How long that takes varies considerably\u2014from the bands who expel all their great ideas on their debut (Warforged) to those that keep the ideas flowing for well over a decade (Dream Theater). Japan\u2019s definitive power metal band, Galneryus, had a fantastic track record over their first sixteen years and twelve albums, but their most recent three, starting with 2021\u2019s Union Gives Strength, have been noticeably more generic\u2014still very good power metal, mind you, just less inspired. Will A Cry from the Sky Above bubble with a newfound verve for Galneryus? The AI-generated art doesn\u2019t inspire hope\u2026<\/p>\n

But the tracklist does with its extended runtimes. Galneryus have written several of the best seven\u2013eight-minute power metal songs ever (\u201cRain of Tears,\u201d \u201cDestiny\u201d), as well as the best lengthy, ten-minute-plus epics (\u201cThe Force of Courage,\u201d \u201cAngel of Salvation\u201d)\u2014hell, \u201cAngel of Salvation\u201d is my favorite song of all time. For those who are unfamiliar with Galneryus: Syu\u2019s neoclassical shred\u2014he\u2019s my favorite guitarist of all time\u2014and Sho\u2019s commanding vocals, along with the steamrolling drums of Lia and symphonic edge of keyboardist Yuhki, firmly put Galneryus among the upper echelon of virtuosos in power metal. The band also writes some of the best choruses ever, and their winding long songs mix epic solo sections like Dream Theater with choruses as tight as Blind Guardian\u2019s. It\u2019s the perfect mixture. So with the average track length on A Cry from the Sky Above hovering around the seven-minute mark, along with the longest song of Galneryus\u2019 career, the fifteen-minute \u201cWithout You,\u201d I went in cautiously optimistic that Galneryus are wielding proggy song structures to write their most inspired work in a hot minute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Galneryus aren\u2019t economical with their songwriting on A Cry from the Sky Above, though, and most tracks would benefit from being pared down. The chunky, nine-minute lead single \u201cLight of Hope\u201d is a prototypical Galneryus song\u2014but stretched out. Just like every leaner Galneryus song for twenty years, \u201cLight of Hope\u201d has an anthemic, fist-pumping chorus and mindblowing neoclassical solo duels from guitarist Syu and keyboardist Suhki. But it\u2019s just that for the majority of the track, only straying from the formula near the end where after a slow ballad-y bridge, the band includes a men\u2019s chorus for a exultant conclusion. The song would have been more memorable as a tight banger\u2014and that\u2019s coming from somebody who adores Galneryus\u2019 penchant for excessively long solo sections. Several other tracks on the album suffer a similar fate (\u201cLet No Time Decay,\u201d \u201cBreak the Silence!\u201d). The album is deceptively not proggy\u2014it\u2019s bloated.<\/p>\n

That would be fine if more tracks were omega bangers like Galneryus used to write, but large chunks of the album are slower than is ideal for the style, making the whole package feel lethargic when I crave\u2014nay demand\u2014high-octane energy. Even \u201cWithout You\u201d feels a bit like a self-pastiche of the band\u2019s magnum opus, following a very similar structure as \u201cAngel of Salvation\u201d without reaching the same giddy peaks. I\u2019m thoroughly entertained by the track as a fanboy of the band and style, but I also don\u2019t see myself bothering to return to it when I already have tracks like \u201cThe Force of Courage,\u201d \u201cUltimate Sacrifice,\u201d and \u201cAngel of Salvation\u201d in my back pocket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The strongest track on A Cry from the Sky Above is certainly \u201cTo the Last Breath\u201d: not only does it up the pace, but it uses Rhapsody-esque orchestration to perform the triumphant main melody. Sho and Syu also demonstrate chemistry here in the verses\u2014the vocals and thrashy guitar energy matching each other\u2019s fervor\u2014that isn\u2019t present on the rest of the album. Ironically, even though I feel like the rhythm guitars are mixed too quietly, I feel Sho\u2019s vocals get lost in them during the record\u2019s verses; thankfully, the producers never lose him on the catchy, soaring choruses. The orchestration is really what boosts \u201cTo the Last Breath,\u201d though, because Galneryus opt for cheesy, twinkling keyboards on the rest of A Cry from the Sky Above, starting from the aimless instrumental intro \u201cCall of the Horizon\u201d and ending on pointless instrumental outro \u201cWhere You Were.\u201d These keyboards have a tonal quality worse than any other decision in the band\u2019s lengthy career and cheapen the whole experience. So, \u201cTo the Last Breath\u201d shows Galneryus are clearly at their best when they lean into their most neoclassical\u2014also note that this is the shortest real track on the album, not coincidentally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be frank: I so badly want to give A Cry from the Sky Above a higher score and ignore its obvious flaws because it\u2019s a style of music I love by an all-time-favorite band. But I can\u2019t in good faith. There are a couple great tracks and a moving ballad (\u201cEchoes of Fate\u201d), and \u201cWithout You\u201d is still worthy of being called \u201cepic,\u201d but the album is deeply flawed. Despite the band\u2019s relatively weaker recent output, I\u2019m still a little shocked that Galneryus, a paragon of quality and consistency, has lowered their floor even more: from rock-solid to just good.<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Beyond the Sunrise, To the Last Breath, Echoes of Fate, Without You
You may also like: Syu, Lightbringer, Jupiter
Final verdict: 6\/10<\/p>\n

Related links: Official Website<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Warner Music Japan<\/a><\/p>\n

Galneryus is:
\u2013 Syu (guitars)
\u2013 Sho (vocals)
\u2013 Yuhki (keyboards)
\u2013 Lea (drums)
\u2013 Taka (bass)<\/p>\n

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