Review Summary: Eye of Solitude have created a heavy, destructive, and melancholic masterpiece with Dear Insanity.
One thing that I always like to tell people that haven’t listened to much metal is that it’s a spectrum. People that haven’t acclimated themselves to extreme metal also don’t truly understand that there is so much out there to be listened to. From death metal to doom metal to black metal, there is so much variety out there that you can find something for nearly any fan of music in general. Eye of Solitude’s
Dear Insanity has captured lightning in a bottle, particularly due to the scope of the project. Consisting of one 49-minute track and a funeral doom/death metal style, the EP is certainly a formidable listen for potential fans.
For those not initiated in the funeral doom style, it's a combination of doom metal and funeral dirge music.
Dear Insanity is deeply rooted in this genre in terms of the pacing and structure. It is monolithic, with every note played and snare hit a deliberate aspect of the song. This sounds like a criticism, but it’s the furthest thing from one. Instead of a massive twenty or thirty minute build-up and crescendo, Eye of Solitude have the foresight and intelligence to create a track that ebbs and flows. The atmosphere is sobering and ethereal, sometimes disappearing under a huge slab of deep death growls and heavy distortion but always emerging on the other side naturally. The cut-out to beautiful keyboards and the initiation of the clean vocals about halfway through help to catapult
Dear Insanity into what I can only vaguely describe as epic territory. The slower, tempered approach throughout supports the moody and depressive atmosphere that pervades every nook and crevice of the EP. Vocalist Daniel Neagoe’s growls are a huge asset to the band here, as they add a much-needed aggression to the affair. The incredible melodies of the guitars that mesh with keyboards around the thirty-five minute mark provide just enough respite to make the emotional payoff of the heavy section that follows incredibly high.
Dear Insanity is an EP that tells a story. What that story is to you in particular will undoubtedly be unique to you, and that is truly the beauty of the songwriting present. I imagine a long, dangerous walk through a much-maligned dark forest in my mind's eye; however, any visuals that plant themselves in your head will surely be epic. I haven’t been this intrigued about a band since the first time that I heard My Dying Bride’s
The Dreadful Hours. Eye of Solitude have created a heavy, destructive, and melancholic masterpiece with
Dear Insanity, and I couldn’t be more excited for what comes next.
