EP Review: Sky Eater

I get the pleasure today of throwing a review at you for King Cruel’s brand-new EP Sky Eater – and trust me, this one hits different.

A quick snoop through their bio reveals these fellas haven’t been around long at all. Barely two years on the scene, they’ve already carved out a sound described as psychedelic and stoner rock cross-bred with doom metal. King Cruel are about as underground as it gets a handful of followers on Facebook, no names, no faces, no fluff. Total mystery. What I do know is they dropped their debut Creeper in 2023 – and the reviews were nothing short of thunderous.

So where to begin?

Track 1 – Haunting Time

First thought: HELL YEAH. This one instantly gives me early-era Dream Theater vibes – that fusion of technical precision and cosmic weirdness. The psychedelic shimmer cuts through the mix perfectly. The layering? Spot-on. It’s clean, professional, and every instrument has space to breathe. Vocals sit right up front, and you can actually hear every lyric – a rare feat in metal. Guitars are monstrous, harmonics hit at all the right moments, and that shift between full and half-time feels effortless. There’s serious musical intelligence here.

Track 2 – Diamond Darya

Straight away, this one’s more savage. It’s dark and moody, dripping with attitude. One moment I’m hearing Dimebag Darrell’s riff ferocity, then I’m catching Corey Taylor-style vocal grit, and suddenly it shifts again – a flash of Like A Storm, one of my favourite Kiwi heavy acts. Diamond Darya is brash yet melodic, smooth yet dirty. It’s that perfect balance of groove and grime. This track absolutely rips.

Track 3 – Sky Eater

And then the title track. Sky Eater is a monster – an absolute standout. The dynamic shifts are fluid; full-time to half-time and back again like clockwork. The guitars coil and strike between the vocal lines, the production feels cinematic, and the whole thing swells with controlled chaos. It’s dark, raw, and deliriously heavy – the sound of a band completely dialled into their own wavelength.

This EP is crazy cool – an underground masterclass in riffcraft and atmosphere. I’d give it twelve stars out of ten if I could. In fact, I’ve already logged it in my diary to add to my heavy-metal leg-day playlist alongside rock royalty like Three Days Grace, Sevendust, and Sixx:A.M.

Give King Cruel a follow. Give them a like.
Most importantly – crank this one loud. It’s explosive.