Eye Of The Enemy – Weight of Redemption
So here I am, sitting high above the offices at The NewReview, just watching everyone going through the daily grind. It’s kinda quiet today so I decided to do little reading. A new package just arrived, so I opened it to find a dirty old book covered in strange symbols, dust and cobwebs. Intrigued, I open to the first page which states “Now this book tells of a story that’s no ordinary tale; it tells of a marriage made not near the pearly gates, but in the bowels of hell.” So needless to say, I continued on. It goes on to tell of two strangers—one named Lamb Of God and the other, Darkane. These two devilish lovers meet in Australia—Melbourne to be exact—and conceive a bastard child which was to be called Eye Of The Enemy. Shortly after birth, the spawn was abandoned at the doorstep of the metal underground where Bleed The Sky adopted the seed, taught it their ways and raised it as if it was their own. And that brings us to the present day. Only a mere four years later, Eye Of The Enemy have released a collection of their own blood thirsty battle hymns appropriately titled Weight of Redemption.
As the curtain rises on Weight of Redemption, you are absolutely beheaded with the opening track titled “Peace.” Blistering drums, ripping axes and throat shredding vocals all come bearing down on you like a unmanned runaway freight train. Eye Of The Enemy’s proverbial beat you senseless and take no prisoners approach is clear, evident and runs throughout the disc’s entirety. Vocally, Julian Detar’s vox are unhinged, menacing and violently beautiful. Even saying that this guy’s vocal chops are disgusting is a complete and total understatement.
One thing that this band does, and does really well, is pulverize you into a bloody stumped mess; and tracks like “Weight of Redemption”, “A Reason For Treason”, “Theocracy” and “The Paradigm Of Penance” surely do not disappoint. The album’s title track features tons of mind-numbing skins work, assaulting vocals and guitarists Chris Kane and Anthony Mavrikis’ scorching six string attack. “A Reason For Treason” is a full-on, nonstop beatdown that blends thumping grooves, rich melodies and big sing-along choruses. Detar’s clean voice is full, solid and fits perfectly over the brutal landscape. “Theocracy” blends heaping helpings of Troy McCosker’s blinding double bass and snare blasts, pounding bass and utterly ridiculous thrashing guitars. With “The Paradigm of Penance”, Eye Of The Enemy throw everything but the kitchen sink at you. Battering ram style drums, thundering low-end, punishing riffs and hell-fueled screams all are encased in loads of bounce and wicked twisting turns.
Focusing more on melody and less on straight forward aggression are tracks like “Facade” and “Burn the World.” “Facade” has a Fear Factory feel to it combining dark keys, pulsing drums and a huge wall of mammoth guitars. “Burn the World” sounds like a mega-hit in the making with its alluring melodies, soaring vocal work, and rapid fire drum and guitar combination. Even though both tracks fall more on the melodic side of things, do not let that fool you. Both are colossal and still come down on you like a ten ton hammer.
Sounding as if they were forged from the loins of two of hell’s goliaths and mentored by another, Eye Of The Enemy is a beast of gigantic proportions and a true metal anomaly. With layer upon layer of breakneck riffs, head slamming grooves and scourging vocals, this band has all the intangibles to become a thriving force for many years to come. So, minions arise! Your savior, your angel of death has come to reclaim his rightful throne on this barren wasteland known as Earth.
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41 Comments
August 30th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Oh. My. GOSH. This sounds absolutely ruthless. Huuuuge sound, and that's just from the samples. I need to hear. Loved the review, by the way!
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Lee replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
Thanks Anthony! Dude, you have NO FREAKIN' IDEA how enormous this record is!
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August 30th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Such a well-written review. One of your best yet, Lee!
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Keith Anderson replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Agreed, Lee. This is your best review I've read.
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Lee replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Thanks guys. I'm telling you, this record is a monster.
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Daryn St. Pierre replied:
September 1st, 2010 at 9:31 pm
These guys are badass and I agree with both Keith and Josh. I loved your review. Good work!
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August 30th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Hell yes! I will be picking this mofo up for sure. Very cool take on
the review too man. Great job.
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Lee replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Ha Ha Ha! Glad you enjoyed it. Definitely go out and grab you a copy, you will not be disappointed. NOW RUN! GO ON! GO!
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August 31st, 2010 at 12:04 am
This sounds a lot like lamb of God. I love Lamb of God. Great review Lee!
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August 31st, 2010 at 12:24 am
Another good find. That's what it's all about. Great review, of course.
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August 31st, 2010 at 12:41 am
It sounds OK. I don't know. Vox do sound like Lamb somewhat , but not sure i like his clean singing that much. Sounds like some heavy riffs and drum/ bass. But this is just from clips. Going to listen to the thing in t's entirety ..
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August 31st, 2010 at 1:01 am
Just got it on Zune…
Dude… it's like Lamb Of God met Goatwhore (in my eyes). I really, really like this.
If only I could edit my "top 15" post.
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Lee replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:50 am
Cool, glad you dig it!
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August 31st, 2010 at 3:40 am
Want this album.
Awesome review – liking the style.
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Lee replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:50 am
Awesome man and thanks!
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August 31st, 2010 at 11:39 am
Awesome to hear you guys are liking it. The band certainly put a lot of their heart and souls into this record, and I a lot of mine into the mix. Great review! Please keep spreading the word
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Lee replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Yea Ermz, it's a SICK album…..if I say so myself.
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August 31st, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Hmm..Lamb of God's little brother. Wanna hear the album…from the clips the music is pretty straightforward chugga/whittled notes in from lamb of god mixed with the lamb of god vocal style…maybe even some of the production was done similar to LOG as well intentionally, as far as drum sounds and guitar sounds. Sounds similar. I'll give these guys a shot..i know my friends who like LOG will like them..so being compared to them is surely going to help them gain listeners.
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Lee replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Hey wtf what's up,
Absolutely give this one a spin, you won't be disappointed.
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August 31st, 2010 at 1:27 pm
This shit is good!
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Lee replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 3:36 pm
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!
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Brad replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Although it is going to be hard to fit some listen time in with all of these amazing albums coming out today!
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August 31st, 2010 at 7:27 pm
From jammin the song 'peace' on myspace…I also hear abit of Daath…and not so much of LOG anymore. I really like Daath's last album. I also heard a clean vocal song on youtube…was prolly 'burn the world'..lil curveball in the mix of the album..versatility…thats cool. I'm sure I'll jam the full album soon and give more of my 2 cents.
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August 31st, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Hmm, the samples sound great, I'm just not feeling the clean vocals, but I'll definitely check out the rest of the album when it comes out.
Great review Lee, definitely one of the best written ones I've seen on the site.
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Lee replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 9:53 pm
actrambley21 what's up…
Thank you very much for the compliment on the review man, I really do appreciate it! As far as the album, it's out bro…..GO GET IT! Ha Ha Ha! I understand your concerns on the clean vox. At first I was a little hesitant as well, but the more I listened the more I enjoyed them. Do yourself a favor though, get your hands on this bad boy!
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September 4th, 2010 at 8:51 am
I'm telling you guys, I cannot get enough of this beast! Morning, noon and night, this album is spinning in my head constantly.
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Ermz replied:
September 5th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Hearing comments like that makes this job worthwhile. Please keep hookin' up people who don't know about them! \m/
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September 7th, 2010 at 8:15 am
Wow! This stuff is unbelievable… definitely among my top3 albums this year so far…
and i like the clean vocals right from the beginning!
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October 16th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Gotta say this is a solid album. I can see the comparisons to LoG, but I really can't stand LoG and I am playing the crap out of this album. I am sure this will make my top 10 at the end of the year.
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February 23rd, 2011 at 4:54 am
I recently stumbled onto this review while looking for new melodic metal bands. And WOW, I was blown away by the sheer awesomeness of this album! Thanks so much to Lee for a stunning review.
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Lee Rochester replied:
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Thanks Kwis, I really appreciate it. I Love these guys and I'm glad you're digging the album as much as I do.
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June 8th, 2011 at 11:11 am
haha .. in the entire compilation you gave away for TNR's members .. Weight of Redemption struck me hard .. VERY HARD!
and now I have lost my head into their blistering merciless riffs and vocals .. lol.
great review .. really anticipated me for the shock they had me in for!
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November 10th, 2011 at 8:22 am
Good review and I am intrigued as well. I will be checking this out tonight after work. Thanks for the heads up man. Is this Death Metal?
Lee, How do I change my account to send me an email notification when someone responds to my post?
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November 10th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
Well I checked out Eye of the Enemy and although they are very cool they sound exactly like Lamb of God. That’s not a bad thing but I was hoping for more after reading the review.
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Lee replied:
November 10th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
They don’t sound exactly like Lamb Of God. Ha Ha!
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November 10th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
No they don’t now that I have heard the remainder of the album. However, on certain songs they do. Obviously the songs that feature clean vocals sounds nothing like LOG but more like that overplayed, 2000′s era, Killswitch Engage sound that brough EMO into metal. Either way the album isn’t bad but not what I was expecting to hear. So you are correct they do not sound exactly like LOG.
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Lee replied:
November 10th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
This album ROCKS! You need to clean those ears out brother. This mofo will put hair on your chest
Like I said in the review, I hear Lamb Of God, Darkane and Bleed The Sky….not KE. Muhahahahahahahaha!
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December 21st, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Wow!!! this exactly what I’ve been needing! don’t know how I missed it but once again, thanks Lee.
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Lee replied:
December 22nd, 2011 at 8:03 am
Awesome! I’m glad you are liking it.
If you haven’t already, give Before The Fall a look-see too. http://thenewreview.net/reviews/before-the-fall-antibody
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December 22nd, 2011 at 12:08 am
This was one of the best releases of last year. Hope they stick around for a while because this album is a monster! Lee your review was equally monsterous
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Lee replied:
December 22nd, 2011 at 8:04 am
Agreed and thanks Nicholas.
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