THE RED CHORD – Prey For Eyes

The Red Chord made their first discographic appearance through their debut and independent release Fused Together In Revolving Doors, seeing the light of the day in 2002. Their Grindcore based Death Metal convinced Metal Blade Records to offer them a record deal. The first Metal Blade treat was Clients, a concept album about mental patients that was released in mid-2005. This album took the band upon various stages to perform besides acts like Gwar, Unearth and Hatebreed, to name a few. In the early 2007, the band began to work on the next addition to their back catalog, coming under the title Prey For Eyes.

So, what happens after the ‘play’ button is pushed? Well, “Film Critiques An Militia Men” comes and delivers one minute of pure Grindcore, although the vocals are slightly cleaner for this genre. “Dread Prevailed” continues in the same extreme pattern, while introducing some melodic parts when it comes to guitar leads and fills. There are some tempo changes here and there that enhance the overall heaviness of The Red Chord’s sound. As the album progresses, the Grindcore label fades away and gives its place to more Death Metal-oriented tracks that are largely guitar driven. During the slower breaks, some Morbid Angel influences can be spotted, while it safe to say that the guitars have graduated from the Slayer academy.

In the tracks “Thread On The Necks Of Kings” and “Responsibles” there’s a guest appearance by bassist Nate Newton from the Hardcore band Converge, and in “Pray For Eyes” and “Prevailed,” there is Jonny Davy from Job. Although it is clear that the guys in The Red Chord have great performing potential, their songwriting lacks creativity and originality. The album contains 14 tracks — could be less in number for the sake of a more personal sound. In the instrumental “It Came From Over There,” the band experiments a little bit on the keyboards, creating a dark atmosphere that could be useful for their future work.

Heading up album highlights are the ton heavy “Intelligence Has Been Compromised,” the 6-minute long “Seminar” that carries some great guitar riffs, and the sick “Birdbath” with the solid rhythm section.

Overall, listening to the third The Red Chord album will leave a good taste in your mouth, although it is clear that there is room for improvement that will eventually lead into getting a more personal profile.