Review Summary: A worrying sign that Prisoners may have been a fluke.
Beginning as a generic metalcore outfit fronted by a pretty face, The Agonist’s development into a genuinely respectable metal band that flirted with a range of influences was quite remarkable. The role that women play in the greater metal scene has been – and probably always will be – a point of contention, but under the direction of Alissa White-Gluz, nobody could have accused this band of using their singer’s gender as a stunt by the time
Prisoners dropped. Alissa’s departure from The Agonist in favour of fronting Arch Enemy came as a shock, and raised questions regarding both the immediate and long-term effects on the band’s musical route. One year and one new vocalist later, fans’ reservations appear to have been justified. Before jumping to conclusions,
Eye of Providence’s mediocrity is
not Vicky Psarakis’ fault, but instead the band’s collective failure to see this as an opportunity to take on unfamiliar territory armed with fresh ideas.
There’s no doubt about it, Vicky’s appointment is clearly The Agonist’s attempt at finding the best imitator of their former front-woman, in fact they chose her on account of her note-perfect covers of the band’s previous material posted online. Vicky is an excellent singer, arguably Alissa’s superior in the clean vocal department, and has commendable ability in terms of her fry screams as well. Had the swap never been announced, it wouldn’t be difficult to convince listeners that they were in fact hearing the same person – mission accomplished, I guess? Not really. I can’t speak for the band as far as how much Alissa influenced their direction, but her absence is met with a curious lack of inspiration across the board. Technically, the band are just as accomplished as they were on their previous album, utilising heavily syncopated rhythm structures and a decent amount of fretboard wizardry. The issue is that the album simply lacks attitude and aggression, as if the band has become complacent in light of hitting their stride on
Prisoners.
Eye of Providence is by far the most streamlined thing the band have ever done, with jarring transitions and awkward grooves being almost entirely absent. However, gone along with these minor hiccups are the adrenaline-charged riffs of “The Escape” and “Lonely Solipsist”, replaced for the most part by a tamer metalcore sound that predictably alternates between cyclical Gothenburg melodicism and low-register chuggery. Songs like “Gates of Horn and Ivory”, “Danse Macabre”, “A Necessary Evil” and “Follow The Crossed Line” are especially guilty of this, although it pervades every track to some degree. “My Witness, Your Victim”, “Perpetual Notion” and “The Perfect Embodiment” set themselves apart to an extent, mixing infectious riffage with inoffensive chord progressions, but none prove to be highlights despite their somewhat differing means. To cap it off, the homogenous production fails to accentuate the infrequent moments in which the instruments actually do shine, and the end product is little more than a blur, peppered with flashes that merely remind us of The Agonist’s better moments.
Whether or not
Eye of Providence is merely a blip, or a genuine foreshadowing of things to come, its patchiness bearing in mind Alissa’s departure is a worrying sign. Now, given the similarly lukewarm reception of Arch Enemy’s 2014 opus
War Eternal, one could say that correlation doesn’t equal causation in this case. Then again, considering Alissa was drafted in well after the recording of said release had begun, many will contend that her creative influence has yet to be felt there, while her absence is taking its toll here. For the time being, we just don’t know.
