Iron Age, The Sleeping Eye
Combining sludgy guitar tones with thrash inspired NYHC, Texas’ Iron Age drop a mighty bomb on the unsuspecting world with The Sleeping Eye. Leaning more toward straight-up heavy metal than traditional hardcore, the band’s sophomore full-length hits like a crowbar to the back of the head.
Doomy riffs match thundering, chugging rhythms as the group delivers with a menacing purpose and intent. The lead vocals are aggressive and gruff, shouted with plenty of vehemence. Backing the growls and shouts, are sludge tinged guitars, unconventional hardcore rhythms and plenty of bruising atmosphere. Each track on this album could stand alone by itself, but when brought together as a collective effort, the result is a dark and violent trip.
The Sleeping Eye Of The Watcher
About 25 seconds on unnecessary ambient noise comes and goes before a decent thrash clip comes through the speakers with a quick vocal bark. The riffing is fairly standard thrash inspired, but shifts after the one minute mark as the raw vocals come in. The shouts are edgy and confrontational. The slower drum work helps accentuate the guitars and vocals. I’m digging the mini-breakdown around 2:10 that’s followed by a dark, distorted lead. This is a slow, churning song with plenty of aggression.
Dispossessed
After the wavering end to a beefy six and a half minute opening track, Iron Age get this next one going with big guitars and thundering drums as a slick bit of layered riffing and pile driving drums come in soon after. There’s a whole lot of head banging mayhem to be had with “Dispossessed.” There’s a slick lead t the two minute mark that then gives way to more thrashing drums and driving guitars.
Burden Of Empire
“Burden of Empire” starts off with a bit of a stoner doom feel with slow moving riffs and heavy drums. The pace picks up tremendously at 1:10 with up-tempo drums and thrashing guitars. The vocals are once mid-range and harsh in its delivery. This is a pretty sweet track that’s powerful and undeterred in mission to destroy. The lead work at 3:40 is disjointed, dark and freakin’ awesome.
Materia Prima
This next one starts off with a good deal or warbling distant noise for the track’s full 2:30 which sort of kills the flow of the album a bit. This is normally something you’d put at the end of an album.
A Younger Earth
Despite the unnecessary break with “Materia Prima,” the band get back down to business with massive, doomy riffs and catchy hooks with this next song. There are some sweet moments throughout this track when the drums hit hard at just the right times along with plenty of groove. There’s a bit more of a stoner feel to this one while still maintaining some hardcore aggression. The same electronic noise that preceded this song ends it.
Arcana pt. I
“Arcana pt. I” massive riffing and hurtling rhythms get this next one off to a rapid start as the vocals come in just after the 20 second mark. This one will leave you bruised in the gutter. There’s a decent series of leads just after the two minute mark that sound as though they were recorded deep in some back alley dumpster — I’m kind of digging it. Then all bludgeoning hell breaks loose after the leads with beefy riffs and hammering drums. The slow down at the four minute mark is burly, doomy and heavy.
Arcana pt. II
The second half of this two track song fades in smoothly from the first, but has a more hardcore influenced sound that’s a nice contrast to the doomier feel of the part one. I think I was expecting more of this style of music from Iron Age than I was the doomy, stoner stuff they’ve been hurling out the speakers so far. The track ends slowly and rumbling like an angry God of Thunder.
The Way Is Narrow
“The Way Is Narrow” begins to cap off the album with slowly developing guitar work and light drumming. The pace finally picks up just before the three minute mark with slick riffing and coarse vocals. This is another dark and brooding song that summarizes the album nicely. There’s some “hidden” material at about 10:25 on this final track that has some catchy riff work and hammering drums, but they are both short lived and the album fades to a close.
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Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A