Review Summary: This is a band to watch out for, currently being unsigned and better than most bands on Rise and Victory combined.
My Eyes Fall Victim are a young post-hardcore/metalcore band from Newton, New Jersey. They play a familiar brand of post-hardcore, bearing similarities to a lot of the bands in the scene. Brothers Mike (Vocals) and Dan (Guitar) King lead the band with passion and integrity, whether it be a passionate vocal moment or a unique instrumental section. The rest of the band are all tight and competent with their instruments, alongside the King brothers. The production isn't amazing, but for an unsigned band it works very well. With a self titled EP and devoted local fan-base under their belts, we now enter their first full length release.
The album begins with a short instrumental track. It starts with soft piano which leads into, well, a breakdown. Overall it’s nothing special just a nice intro to the album. The next two songs are a good sign of the entire album’s sound though. Tight and concise post-hardcore numbers with piano/guitar driven choruses, breakdowns, and plenty of growling/screaming. The lyrics are nothing too special, but they aren’t bad, expect a typical post-hardcore affair here. While the mention of breakdowns may turn some people off, they use them well for their sound and they aren’t overused at all. At the middle of the album we find another instrumental track, Nothing But The Shadows Of Images, which is extremely cool and has a sort of progressive ethereal vibe to it, which is a really promising aspect of this band. They take the tired and stale scene formula, create songs like this, while also incorporating this song’s sound into their other songs.
The rest of the album is different from the first half in some ways, with Small Gates sounding like an American and (a lot better) version of
Asking Alexandria, while also having an awesome breakdown incorporating keyboards. The song is definitely one of the heaviest and best on the album, while also being one of the shortest. Come Close is another highlight containing an extremely catchy chorus and a well timed breakdown. This brings us near the end of the album, with The Great Equalizer, a slow and mellow track with cleans in the background which leads into the best track on the album. Hell Is Empty; All The Devils Are Here is exactly the kind of sound the band was going for, it all culminates here. It is part metalcore madness, part Tim Burton soundtrack, and all parts Epic. If I only recommend you listen to one song, it is this one. They Have Taken With Them the World is partly a chill instrumental track which ends with screams over an ambient breakdown-esque part that is basically a reprise of the intro track. Overall, a very fitting end to the album.
With all the bands in the scene today trying to make it, this band is probably one of the only ones who deserve to. It never feels like the band is making music that is for the sake of moshing like so many of their peers. Their clean and ambient sections are beautiful, their breakdowns and heavy parts are all well executed and feel integral to the sound, with parts combining them being where the band truly shines. This is a band to watch out for, currently being unsigned and better than most bands on Rise and Victory combined. We can only hope they continue in this direction and live up to all their potential on their next release.... until then, this is pretty damn good.
