Following in the battle-hardened footsteps of their forbears, war torn legends like Bolt Thrower and Carcass, Nihil Eyes are here to show the world that British death metal can still go toe-to-toe with the world’s elite; that the birth place of metal still possesses the firepower to compete on every level. Formed in 2016 by lead vocalist/guitarist Casey Jones and drummer Szymon Ogiello, the duo were joined in early 2017 by bassist Max Morgan. With the crew complete the heavy artillery of Nihil Eyes was ready to roll and progress has been ferociously rapid. It’s incredible that an earthshaking barrage like Black Path is ready to be unleashed scant months after the band’s line-up was solidified. Such is the accomplished poise and presence that radiates from monstrous steel-clad tracks like ‘Treachery And Id’ and ‘Burn The Leech’, that you’d swear they were the work of veteran campaigners.
Mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö (Asphyx, Bloodbath, Incantation and too many others to mention) the sound on Black Path is soul-shaking in its dark power, the drive and force behind the immaculately crafted, armour plated tracks simply fearsome. Lyrically speaking, Casey Jones describes the album as “a series of psychological thought experiments exploring the human condition” and these dark explorations add a challenging edge to the shadowy atmosphere that hangs over the album like gun smoke. We take a look at the new album and give thoughts on whether it truly is up to par with their death metal peers.
British Death Metal has created some really special bands, need I mention Carcass and Bolt Thrower? I think not. Well fast forward to 2017 and add Nihil Eyes to your list of bands to check out, bearing in mind that we are coming towards the pointy end of the year making top ten lists etc and I can honestly say that this is a real gem of a find.
The aforementioned bands are a definite influence but these guys put a fresh spin on their sound with “Black Path”, the track “Nihil eyes” kicking off proceedings in absolute solid fashion with riffs a plenty and a break down at the end that could and would surely bring down mountains. Track two “Burn The Leech” is a thrashy behemoth where I can picture circle pits erupting just on the sound of the opening riff while track 3 “Lord of Flies” is simply put, a frenzied riff attack with the opening sounds of literal buzzing flies and panicked heavy breathing.
Now to give you a small back story here, I stumbled across this band with the track “Border Line”, a slow burning number with pounding drums and savage vocals. I think what strikes me the most is that there is absolutely no breathing room on this record to stop and taken what you have before you and for me as a reviewer, that’s what makes it so exciting because the next bass line guitar riff or solo takes you on another twist and turn. I also must mention that I pick up a real old school vibe in terms of production and overall sound which I know will tick several large boxes when trying to find that fine balance of old school/ new death metal. The album itself has been mixed and mastered by Dan Swano Asphyx, “Bloodbath” and “Incantation” are a few of the legends on this mans impressive resume.
Front man Casey Jones describes this album as “a series of psychological thought experiments exploring the human condition” so the bottom line here is that you can expect big things from these guys as they won’t let you down in any way shape or form. On the live front I whole heartedly believe they would be phenomenal so it’s a gigantic 9 out of 10 from me. I can see big tours and much acclaim if these guys keep up with this brilliant body of work and as usual I’m going to advise grabbing this album, crank it up past 11 and really annoy your neighbour.
TRACKLIST
Nihil Eyes
Burn The Leech
Lord Of Flies
As The Water Falls
Border Line
True Nihilist
Treachery And Id
Manifesto
