Label: Century Media
Review by Tony Cannella
I know Arizona’s Eyes Set to Kill have been around for a few years (well more than a few, ten years to be exact) and their new album “Masks” is the bands fifth album, and to be honest I have only heard the name but never actually heard the band. Well after getting a chance to listen to “Masks”, I have to say that I was really missing out on something. Eyes Set to Kill plays with the ferocity of a hard core thrash band while still managing to inject the songs with heavy doses of melody and tuneful hard rock.
Where to start… Well first off the vocal duo of Alexia and Cisko are quite a formidable combination. Alexia has a wailing sort of vocal style and she really would not sound out of place in a hard rock band, her vocals have plenty of depth and character. Cisko on the other hand is the polar opposite. His vocals have more of a thrash metal direction and when the band decides to thrash up the songs, he is there to provide the screaming vocals. Of course, this is not a new concept. It’s all in the presentation and some bands do it better than other, and Eyes Set to Kill do it very well. When Cisko and Alexia work in tandem on the same song, it is very powerful and energetic. The intro track, “Masks” gets things off to an ominously eerie beginning. This only lasts for about 2-minutes and segues into the pounding blitzkrieg of “Killing in Your Name” and Eyes Set to Kill hit the ground running. This song is driven by a hammering thrash metal style riff as the clean vocals of Alexia starts off. “Lost and Forgotten” starts off with a slower, heavy and chugging riff as Cisko starts off on vocals and gives the song the right amount of aggression before Alexia joins in as the song manages to maintain the right balance between belligerence and melody. The juggernaut continues on “Where I Want To Be” and “True Colors”. Other highlights include: “Surface”, “Little Liar”, “Haze” and the albums closer “The Forbidden Line”. The power that is present on “Masks” cannot be understated, not one bit. Eyes Set to Kill are a relentless monster destroying everything in their path.
Rating – 88/100
Tracklist
- Masks
- Killing In Your Name
- Lost and Forgotten
- Where I Want To Be
- True Colors
- Surface
- Little Liar
- Nothing Left To Say
- The New Plague
- Infected
- Secrets Between
- Haze
- The Forbidden Line
Line Up
- Alexia – Vocals, Guitar & Keyboards
- Anissa – Bass
- Cisko – Screams & live only Guitar
- Caleb – Drums & Samples