Hailing from the city of brother love, Philadelphia, thrash veterans Eyes of The Living are not exactly new to the game despite the current moniker being a more recent incarnation of the group. Going back as far as the mid 90’s, the Pennsylvania thrashers individually bring some experience with modern touches to their arsenal of metal in the form of their new album “War On Dead – More Dead”.
Despite being dubbed a thrash metal act, there is definitely much more to the band’s repertoire than meets the eye, or ear in this case. Upon hearing tracks such as “Hell On Earth” and “Stench Of Death“, there is a definitive hardcore feel to the songs and the way the band presents the music even if there is some speed added to the mix to give that thrashy sound. Add to that a somewhat cinematic atmosphere in the form of it’s horror based concept with zombie noises, interludes filled with creepy soundscapes and a dark, eerie feel overall and what you have is a real soundtrack more than just a collection of songs.
Musically though Eyes Of The Living are on point, specifically with the instrumentation that combines grooves, energy and killer riffs that hook you right in. “Count The Days” sets the tone for the album at the start but it’s the more fast paced numbers like “Run For Your Life” and “Chemical Bath” that stick out the most. Throw in some hard rock oriented stuff like “I Am Alone” and “Survival” and the dynamics of the album come to fruition by the end.
You can also tell these guys have been doing this for a while just from hearing how on point everything sounds. Debut albums generally don’t sound as refined as this and it shows with a song like “Infected” where the galloping riffs are right in the pocket with drum parts sitting in all the right places.
This is the kind of stuff that sadly gets ignored by the majority who seemingly look for new music but never stray past their inner circles. Eyes Of The Living are another example of how great the underground can be and while some success has come to members of the band in various forms including supporting such iconic bands like Iron Maiden, Morbid Angel and others, it’s really the music that counts more than anything and here it’s just a solid effort all around.
TRACKLIST
Count The days
Run For Your Life
Infected
Hell On Earth
Interlude – Aftermath
Chemical Bath
Stench Of Death
Pull The Trigger
Interlude – They Got Rick
I am Alone
War On Dead
What Is Left For The Dead
Survival
Dawn
Outro – Contamination