Label : Massacre Records/Nuclear Blast USA
Review By Tony Cannella
The Los Angeles based metal band Echoes of Eternity released their debut effort in 2007 titled “The Forgotten Goddess” – that was one heck of a debut that really forced metal fans to sit up and take notice. Now, 2-years later the band returns with their sophomore opus “As Shadows Burn” and with all due respect to that impressive debut, this release totally leaves that one in the dust. For this CD the band have hooked up with former Machine Head and Soulfly member Logan Mader to produce and judging by the overall quality of the material, it appears to be a wise move. With the opening track “Ten of Swords” the first thing you’ll notice is that the band have definitely taken it up a notch in the heaviness department, yet the angelic vocals of Francine Boucher still remain. While the band have definitely gotten heavier this time around they still maintain the melodic aspects that made “The Forgotten Goddess” such an enjoyable and memorable piece of work. “Veiled Horizon” is next and has a great opening riff and the vocals of Francine really make this one of the highlights. “Memories of Blood and Gold” is up next and it is just a pounding straight-forward metal track and it keeps the momentum going. Other highlights include “The Scarlet Embrace”, “Descent of a Blackened Soul”, “Letalius Deus” and the 7-minute instrumental “Funeral in the Sky”, which closes the album. All-in-all “As Shadows Burn” is the work of a band that have all the confidence and ability in the world. Echoes of Eternity seem to be a band that have really hit their stride and hopefully “As Shadows Burn” will gain them the worldwide fan base they so richly deserve. If you liked “The Forgotten Goddess”, than I see no reason why you shouldn’t LOVE “As Shadows Burn”.
Rating – 95/100
Tracklist
- Ten of Swords
- A Veiled Horizon
- Memories of Blood and Gold
- The Scarlet Embrace
- Descent of a Blackened Soul
- Twilight Fires
- Buried Beneatha Thousand Dreams
- Letalius Deus
- Funeral in the Sky
Line Up
- Francine Boucher – Vocals
- Brandon Patton – Guitars
- Brian Eagle – Guitars
- Duane Cowan – Bass
- Kirk Carrison – Drums
Links