Review Summary: We walk and carry our shadows.
A quintet,
Thine Eyes Bleed are a Canadian metal ensemble who hail from London, Ontario. Established in 2004, these marauders assembled in search of a sound which - while not terribly unorthodox - had the potential to make aliens and neanderthals live in harmony. Their style is principally rooted in melodeath, though there are also thrash undertones abound; yes, I'm well aware TEB are not the first outfit to ever merge the two directions, but they do it fine enough. Since their conception, this five-piece team has dished out three studio albums containing mystical cover artwork underlying a direct, but no less coarse approach to the subgenre. For as long as the reviewer can remember, these dudes are characterized by Justin Wolfe's ominous growling as well as guitar riff work that boils down to candid adoration. The band's latest release was
The Embers Rise, issued in the year of 2011; three eyes prior to offering numero tres, a sophomore album made its tranquil and simultaneously virulent attack on mankind.
Made available on April 15, 2008,
Thine Eyes Bleed featured a decrepit pile of 10 tracks disregarding quantity as they welcomed the fiery pits of Gehenna with open arms. The album can be likened to vibrating wheelchairs holding a rendezvous at a holy graveyard; the former leans closer to a typical nature, while said cemetery seeps with mythical abilities. This also goes hand-in-hand with Thine Eyes Bleed themselves, who utilize a straightforward (if haunting) tone in many of the album's tracks connecting to the lyrical content that essentially concerns negative themes. As the listener, one will encounter songs with quite moderate lengths and uncomplicated songwriting choices. By far one of
Thine Eyes Bleed's best aspects is just how consistent everything is: Darryl Stephens' drumming is tinny as it is rhythmically pleasing and the guitars are thunderous. Bassist Johnny Araya's contributions are pretty quiet within the mix, though he keeps up with the rest of the band with relative ease.
The CD's instrumentation is, as this review mentioned earlier, almost always on track and demonic. The guitar playing managed throughout the album is slick and delivers good ol' crunches, particularly on "The Dragon," "Truth in Evil," and "Mouth of Hell". This album's drum work is rather precise, never burning so much as Stephens' skills crush. Beyond that, however, the percussion doesn't showcase a lot in the way of anything extraordinary. Justin Wolfe's vocal performance on this self-titled specimen will send chills down even a spine that belongs to a mutated crow. The fellow's screaming techniques add to the rough tones pouring in and out of the record. If anything, his bellows prove terrifying more so like on the number "Dark White" where there are additional growls provided by
Kittie's leading lady Morgan Lander.
From a production standpoint, the mixdown speaks a decibel or two about what Thine Eyes Bleed are about. The full-length effort's audio quality is unsurprisingly modern, savage, and even sharp, yet the bass is inaudible throughout the release's 40-minute runtime.
At the end of the sorrowful evening transiting into an even more lamentable night, Justin Wolfe and company have done a swell job grazing the motherload upon the launch of their self-titled affair. Assuming you don't always want something outlandish or groundbreaking, and are interested in hearing copious amounts of nicely-done pacing attached to an album that gets down to the nitty-gritty,
Thine Eyes Bleed is the right kind of album to immerse yourself in.
Fierce.
