Review Summary: Echoes of Eon stands out from the instrumental metal crowd on the strength of its entrancing and exploratory songwriting.
Instrumental metal has arrived at something of a crossroads lately. A few bands have gained recognition as pioneers in the past – Pelican, Gordian Knot and Buckethead come to mind – but several groups are beginning to lend credence to the idea that heavy music without vocals is not only a viable art form, but one with a bright future. Fans of the prog scene may recognize names such as Animals as Leaders, Scale the Summit, Behold…the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Cloudkicker and Chimp Spanner -- while these are perhaps the best prospects in the genre, there are plenty of other talented acts worldwide waiting to break through. This is where Echoes of Eon comes into play.
Echoes of Eon was founded in 2011 in Dobre Miasto, Poland. After some initial lineup shifts, the band settled on its current quartet and hit the road. Echoes landed second place at Poland’s National Alternative Music Festival, earning them a record deal for the next year. After six months of touring and briefly entertaining the idea of having a singer, Echoes entered the studio with the material for its debut, which would become
Immensity. Featuring elements of electronic music and progressive metal, Echoes’ debut is an exercise in artistic restraint – the ebb and flow of its delicately assembled songs is paramount to the overall experience. In keeping with the planetary theme of
Immensity, there is a futuristic and spacey feel on much of the album, largely due to the open arrangements of clean guitar and synthesizer that grace each track.
Echoes of Eon makes no secret of the fact that its music is designed to transcend. It describes its songs as “compositions that are beyond the form, dimensional sound contrasts forming large, quiet melodies punctuated with a bang. Echoes of Eon is the sound that travels and breaks the space-time.” Perhaps that's a bit grandiose, but the music itself is convincing enough.
Immensity features top-notch musicianship from all members, particularly the rhythm section. Bass players, in particular, are often lost on metal recordings, but Raphael Korecki has some killer lines throughout the album and often takes center-stage during what would otherwise be lulls in the music, notably carrying the end of “Rea” with the album’s best groove.
Highlights of the album include its single, “Kallisto,” and the last third of the album; “Tytan,” “Rea,” and “Japet” arrive in succession and showcase the album’s diversity. “Tytan” rides swells of tremolo guitar and builds steadily to a pair of more metal climaxes, while the second features thrumming double-kick work and a triumphant finale underscored by its definitive bass line. The last track on the album is the only one with vocals, and quite good ones at that. Mixing clean singing with a hardcore-style shouted middle section, “Japet” is a fitting finale full of growling bass and wavering guitars. It all adds up to a promising debut, and one that ought to gain Echoes some attention among fans of the more accomplished bands in its sector. Should that happen, you would be doing yourself a favor to bookmark Echoes of Eon as a band to watch and pick up
Immensity sooner rather than later.
