Coming off the heals of yet another phenomenal record "Coma Nation,"
Eidolon have proved themselves worthy of yet their own place in the Metal world with their latest release "Apostles of Defiance." Moving beyond the connotations of being just another underground band with a huge cult following, this ultra heavy offering should put the band in it's place standing out alone among all the other great Metal bands, moving beyond their current status.
Mixing elements of early Thrash, modern Power Metal, elements of progressive structure, and conceptual overtones, "Apostles of Defiance" has moved
Eidolon more towards their pinnacle, being the record that probably will break them into even larger status. With this record moving them into more of a heavier atmosphere than any of their previous records (not that any of their previous efforts were bad at all) not to mention this record showcases diversity within the whole scope of the Metal realm. "Apostles of Defiance" is more of an effort on the bands behalf to prove that they have a lot of headroom to move around when it comes to the musical chops as well as production.
The diversity can be found in the differences within most of the cuts,
"Scream from Within" starts the record off on the more classic thrash note, sounding more like an early
Slayer cut, being completely aggressive while
"Twisted Morality" continues the record on that same path copulating the modern Power Metal of
Iced Earth and
Steel Prophet with Speed Metal overtones.
"Volcanic Earth" almost sounds like a heavier
Helloween cut, but yet we have to remember that it's
Eidolon, proving that they have heard a few cuts from those guys; other Power Metal related cuts are the melodic opuses
"The Test," and
"Pull the Trigger," sounding like the earlier
Eidolon we have grown to love, but yet being heavier, with the influence of early Fates Warning, early Queensryche, and Heaven's Gate, while keeping their own take on these cuts present. The final cut, which is the title track, is an extended opus, starting out as a dark guitar interlude that leads into a more progressive aesthetic ranging from dark structure to improvised jam sessions to thrash speed playing, ending up as the major epic on the record.
When looking at "Apostles of Defiance" from the recording/production standpoint, it's a very "warm" recording, the mix is tight considering the dense amount of guitars that grace the record, being layered on top of each other, which since we are currently in the discussion of guitars I might add that Glen Dover's guitar work, which is phenomenal throughout, referring to his thick rhythmic dynamics to his leads/solos. Vocalist Pat Mulock also returns for a second record, proving again that he fits like a glove, although on a couple of tracks his vocals seem to be lost in the mix and could be brought up a bit, especially since his chops have nothing to hide, seeing that he is a good cross between
John Arch and Chuck Billy.
All in all, this is one heavy fucking record, with pure musicianship. Defiantly for fans of some of the heavier Power Metal bands, as well balls to the wall Metal bands such as
Ballistic (
see review) and Edguy.
Written by
Hashman Friday, October 3, 2003
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