As we come to the end of the year, we tend to go back and pick up the last of what we may have missed along the way which is common when you literally receive hundreds of albums every week. Somehow Melbourne’s Eye Of The Enemy flew under my radar back in October and boy did I miss the boat on this one! But here we are now just a few weeks shy of the new decade and this had to be included in our top metal releases of the year.
A few albums in and a slew of international supports on the live circuit has seen Mebourne metallers Eye Of The Enemy continue into the new decade with a sense of what makes a really good metal band great. In a world that’s particularly choosy especially when the classics all but seem to be the only thing the masses attach themselves to, it’s satisfying to know bands like this continue to produce the kind of quality music that begs to be heard. We don’t fuck around at The Rockpit when it comes to knowing which bands warrant your attention, there’s too many that comes our way that is time consuming as it is but there’s enough of the good stuff to build an entire series of reviews around.
So here then with Eye Of The Enemy and their new album “Titan“. An all out, balls to the wall, heavy record that doesn’t stop from start to finish. These guys don’t seem to mess around as they showcase, track to track, a relentless piece of work that brandishes all the right ingredients of metal music done right. Starting off with the haunting intro in “Clay“, this opening piece sets the tone for what’s to come and despite the sheer brutality of it all, there’s a real melodic side of it too buried underneath the growls and wails of the vocals and instruments on hand. The European melodic metal flavor adds a nice touch to the Aussie sound without even trying but there’s really a diverse mix of influences and objective takes on various metal acts that are sure to be heard by the listener.
“Empire” is brought in by a cinematic entrance and the heavy double bass driven groove makes this one of the early highlights and thus making you want more of this band. “Of Blood And Wine” packs in the riffs tight, relentlessly digging deep into the kind of hellfire you by now may be expecting. That breakdown towards the end switches things up brilliantly too leading to an end that simply comes too early. “Born Of The Artists Decay” simply hits it out of the park perfectly, a sound reminiscent of Lamb Of God in the guitar riffage displayed precariously with absolute intention to detail.
But for something a bit different, the band pull out the epic juggernaut “Stress And Colours” which appears to have a bit of that prog metal element surrounding the song. The off-kilter beats here and there keeps you on your toes for a bit but doesn’t stray too far from it’s core element. It will be one of the stand out tracks on here for sure but without having the ferocity that most of the album has.
The title track “Titan” on the other hand will get people jumping or headbanging or just generally losing their collective shit with it’s industrialised beat hooking you right in from the get-go. Same with “Cinders” with it’s fast paced burst of energy and beautifully crafted guitar work.
As we hit the back end of the album where things generally tend to turn a little sour, we find the consistency never waivers one bit. “Abrasive Turns Of Phrases” continues the onslaught with lots of stops and starts to keep you guessing at every turn and the closing “Hooks And Wires“, while taking a little to get things cranking, eventually gets the adrenaline pumping by the end. By this point it feels well and truly like a metal odyssey of sorts making this album a definite hook, line and sinker for inclusion in our top metal picks of 2019.
8/10
TRACKLIST
Clay
Empire
Of Blood And Wine
Born Of The Artists Decay
Stress And Colours
Tabula Rasa
Titan
Cinders
Abrasive Turns Of Phrases
Hooks And Wires
