The Black Mages II: The Skies Above Catalog # Composers Arrangers Producers Publisher CD Info Length Release date The Black Mages II: The Skies Above is the second studio album of Nobuo Uematsu's band The Black Mages. Unlike its predecessor, The Skies Above does not make use of sequenced drums, instead relying on percussionist Arata Hanyuda's performance on each track. The track listing includes a wider selection of musical themes drawn from the series, not merely focusing on the battle music.