The making of a champion
_original.jpg)
America,
the land of opportunities. You can either choose to play awful
metalcore, retro trhash, old school death or anything else that was
or will become trendy or you can follow into the footsteps of ''no
fucks given'' legends. Eternal Champion managed to truly establish
its sound with their first demo, this 2 songs and 9 minutes tape.
Praising the divine words of Manilla Road, they're succeeding at
penetrating the epic metal scene with ease. I always liked the
American epic heavy/power scene and this band while keeping things
safe, they're very enjoyable. Fans of both USPM and epic metal, add
them to your list and expect a massive first album in some years.
I
remembered why I'm not a fan of singles or short Eps while reviewing
this release, I wanted more !! 2 songs is definitely not enough
when it's that good. The production for a first demo is impressive
and professional, a proof that modernity in metal has its benefits.
Jason Tarpey has a very nice voice, powerful when needed and high
when he wants to. His clean delivery is hard to compare, it's a bit
similar to Mike Scalzi of Slough Feg. He's a good singer and the
production suits his vocals better than his other band, Graven Rite
(composed of Ancient Vvisdom members, ewwww!) They play a proggier
version of epic metal with some Fates Warning influences, it's ok !
Eternal Champion on the other hand plays a fast paced brand of epic
heavy/power metal not altogether dissimilar from the the heydays of
Mark Shelton's beloved project and the aforementioned Slough Feg.
 |
| Yeah, they opened for Manilla Road for their first show! Epic as fuck! |
Their
lyrical themes are awesome and they're what you're expecting from an epic
metal band, it's all about Howard and Moorcock here and that's toally
fine with me. It's always fun to hear about Elric and it's never
getting old. Both songs are your standard 4 minutes and it works
well. There's nice leads and a rich musical background that can
recall the European epic scene with their Doomsword and company. The
songs are very good but they feel incomplete, they could be at least
2 minutes longer without losing any of their punchy attitude. In
fact, that's what the band is intending to do based on an interview I
read and that's certainly got me excited as I usually prefer the
longer songs.
There's
cool leads such as the one in the second track but the songs could be
even more intricate and complex while keeping the feel of epicness.
It's not very atmosheric and it could be fleshed out. Nevertheless,
this band took me by surprise and I wasn't expecting grand things and
even though they're still at the first stage of their evolution, the
future is promising. The songwriting, effective and without flourish,
is captivating and catchy but leaves a ''gimme more'' taste in my
mouth. I'll anxiously wait for a full length from these guys.
Listen to the 2 songs on Youtube!
The
tape is sold out, I think but a a 7'' will be out soon too !
An
interview with the band : http://metalsquadron.com/2013/04/16/eternal-champion-bringing-the-glory-back-to-texas/
No comments:
Post a Comment