Review Summary: Eternal Lord will please fans of Ed Butcher & Deathcore, but will do little to nothing for dissenters of the genre.
Eternal Lord hail from Swindon, United Kingdom. The group released two EPs before the release of this record,
Eternal Lord and
Azriel/Eternal Lord, a split EP with Glasgow musicians
Azriel. Through multiple lineup changes afterward, Eternal Lord with Ed Butcher, of
I Killed The Prom Queen fame, released 2008's
Blessed Be This Nightmare. The band broke up officially almost a year after the debut album's March 17th European release date, on January 6th, 2009. I came into this record expecting a continuation of the sound found on
Music For The Recently Deceased, but instead received a sound akin to
The Acacia Strain.
The first thing you'll notice with Eternal Lord is, Ed Butcher's improved vocals since his tenure in IKTPQ. He has much deeper lows than before, and his high vocals, while not being used as frequent as they were on
Music For The Recently Deceased, seem more focused and as a result, are more enjoyable. The main problem with the vocals seem to be a severe lack of variation, and while listening to the first three or four tracks this may not be a problem, over time the constant high-low-high-low formula seems to get really old and monotonous.
Instrumentally, this record doesn't seem to do much out of what you've already heard in this genre. The guitars chug along, the drums seem to follow the riffs and come to a screeching halt during the breakdowns, and well the bass is no where to be heard. One track that definitely moves itself away from this formula is Amity. The track is all instrumental, the song starts off with a subtle acoustic guitar, and with time, later adds in more sounds along with the original acoustic riff. The song is by far one of the highlights of the record and one of the more calming songs after the constant assault of the previous tracks. Some songs attempt to include the calming effect of Amity, such as All Time High. The track ends with the guitar fading into dissonance, and a soothing piano outro is played till the end. While these sections are not necessarily needed, they do add a bit of variety to the tracks and are definitely a relief to the ears after the same formula of chugging that Eternal Lord constantly relies heavily on.
A huge positive to this record would have to be just how consistent it is. The record, while not exploring new ground, stays true to the formula that Eternal Lord have decided to use. A fan of this formula will see this in high regard, whereas a dissenter will find this as a severe problem with the band. Every track (excluding the instrumental Amity), features chugging riffs, a solid vocal performance, and 1-2 breakdowns that don't seem to pull the work down one bit. The breakdowns actually add to the sound, as with each song the track builds up to the breakdown and finally releases with said breakdown. While the album is quite consistent, the record does indeed have a tiny bit of filler. The intro track is completely unnecessary and is just a one minute continuous dissonant breakdown. While this doesn't pull down the record as a whole, it does in-fact serve no purpose to the band or the sound that they're attempting to create.
Eternal Lord, while not breaking any new ground in deathcore, has released a solid record full of force, energy, and consistency.
Recommended Tracks:
Get To ***
I, The Deceiver
Amity
