EYEFEAR – 9 Elements Of Inner Vision

There have been quite some surprises lately – Loch Vostok is one, Eyes of Shiva another – both great Prog/Power/whatever albums from young and very promising bands. Eyefear is another such band.

Although the band has been around as long as 10 years, this is only their second full-length album, and the first one with former Pegazus frontman Danny Cecati. Pegazus, of course, was the quite good Australian Trad-Metal band with the ridiculous album covers and the singer with the long hair and incredible voice. Thus Cecati is a definite winner in every line-up, as he is here. The rest of the line-up consists of keyboardist Sammy Giacotto, and founding members: guitarist Kosta Papazoglou, bassist Rob Gorham, and drummer Zain Kimmie. Each is rock solid, and they perform this rather technical music in a very impressive manner.

Stylewise, this reminds quite a lot of the late Chuck Schuldiner’s Prog Metal band Control Denied, both in terms of vocal lines and song structures. This is quite Progressive stuff, with time changes aplenty and a guitarist with balls to go past traditional power-chords, experimenting with broader chordal pallets. The keys are also integrated in the music in a very good manner, and the rhythm section provides us with some very catchy grooves. Luckily, the band has not forgotten the importance of melody, and Cecati offers quite some nice vocal lines throughout (also check out the awesome screams in a.o. “Where Clouds Divide”).

Some of the songs do tend to be a bit on the anonymous side, but this impression is diluted after the album is given several spins. There’s much music to dive into, and the listener has to give it some time. The opening trio (after a very nice intro) of “Two Souls Apart,” “Illumination Fades,” and the very majestic “Where Clouds Divide” are definite highlights, as is the ending ballad “Beyond the Twilight,” which actually is quite reminiscent of the Dream Theater classic “Space Dye Vest.”

The choirs in the chorus of “Dreams” are not too successful, though, and neither are all of the calm parts. Cecati sings way better when he gets to squeeze some balls, and this is shown very well in a song like “Altered Visions.” The quiet part in the opening is rather average, and then the riffing and vocals all of a sudden lift the track quite a bit. Overall, there are lots of cool things going on here, and this band has potential to go very far.