RoD header

Translate

eternalgrey yourgodsmyenemies
Artist: Eternal Gray
Title: Your Gods, My Enemies
Genre: Death Metal
Release Date: 14th October 2011
Label: Season of Mist


Album Review

ETERNAL GRAY is a Death Metal band from Israel who performs a mix of melody and technical brutality. Their debut held high praise when it was released back in 2002 for a crisp clear sound that involved the ferocity of KRISIUN but also included technical bursts that were similar to DECREPIT BIRTH. Overall, their music is pretty heavy with little room for melody or ambiance. Their sophomore effort, ‘Your Gods, My Enemies’, took nearly eight years to complete, but it finally got to see the light of day. Some could say it is a bit of a departure from the brutality department and more of a well rounded Death Metal effort, combining hard and furious riffs with the dark animosity of foreboding melodies. The production is still excellent, making the vocals stand out especially with their growls so they don’t seem muddled or overdone in a gritty, old-school formula that seems like an excuse to hide cheap lyrics. Tracks like ‘Inner Anger’ feature a healthy dose of enjoyable rhythms and fast, technical solos for a balanced sound. ‘Controlled’ is more of a buzzing, furious churn that is less forgiving on the ears as it just blazes straight through with often a one track mind when it comes to the guitars. There is more cohesion and as a result, a bigger sound, but shows more speed than skill compared to other tracks. “Blind Messiah” is a bit of a mid paced effort, choosing to open slowly and then picks up slightly, but the tone is different compared to the other Death Metal offerings. With almost slow, reverb-drenched guitar tones the music seems like it would fit more along the lines of Groove or Hardcore Metal. The music is very catchy but like a XASTHUR album, the distortion from the guitars blots out everything except for the vocals.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on this album is the final remix track. The band decided as a bonus to include the dance happy version of ‘Never Waits’, which sticks out like a sore thumb on the album. Devoid of guitars, growling, and furious drumming, it seems like ETERNAL GRAY turns from KRISIUN into SKINNY PUPPY or GOTHMINISTER. The atmosphere is certainly enjoyable with the vocoder laden vocals and backing female singing, adding in some operatic elements. However, it leads to a very interesting question… is this a sign of times to come? Remixes here and there are expected on a lot of Death Metal albums, but it is a huge jump for ETERNAL GRAY because throughout their discography there have been no hints of any sort of nod in this direction. Is it a bad thing? That would depend on the fan. For the current times, electronic experimentation and dance beats are the “big thing”, although to compare the original ‘Never Waits’ to this one would almost make it seem like there are two different tracks. If perhaps the vocals had been put in, or some sections of heavy guitar riffs were permitted, then this would have been an excellent bonus addition that would have sit well with fans all across the board, much like how THE PROJECT HATE does their work. Overall, ‘Your Gods, My Enemies’ as a strong effort that will satisfy most Death Metal fans without much complaint. This album is just as good, if not better, than the debut, and even though the industrial remix might seem like a random addition, it provides a bigger outlook at what the band can do.


Tracklist

01. Lost Control - 3:41
02. Controlled - 3:31
03. Black Prophecy - 4:02
04. Desolate The Weak - 4:15
05. Inner Anger - 3:26
06. Your Gods, My Enemies - 5:30
07. Unlabeled - 4:29
08. Blind Messiah - 5:27
09. Never Waits - 3:21
10. Never Waits (remix) - 5:10


Line-up

Oren Balbus - Vocals
Gil Ben Ya'akov - Bass
Dory Bar-Or - Guitar
Auria Sapir - Guitar
Dror Goldstein - Drums


Website

http://www.eternalgray.net


Cover Picture

eternalgrey yourgodsmyenemies


Rating

Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10


Comments powered by CComment