Through The Eyes of The Dead, Skepsis
With only a single remaining original member, Through The Eyes of The Dead have taken their recent turnover to not only get acquainted with one another, but to also refocus their sound and energies. While I really liked the band’s debut full length, Bloodlust, I couldn’t get into their sophomore effort, Malice. The band’s third album sees them shift ever so slightly away from the deathcore tag they helped pioneer and set their sights on a more death metal oriented sound.
Skepsis still contains some of the larger breakdowns I’ve heard in a while, it also sees more traditional death metal influences seeping into band’s repertoire. One of the band’s latest additions is vocalist Danny Rodriguez, who unleashes some top not vocal destruction on the album — his delivery is deep, powerful and full. Musically, the band carries their take on death metal with chunky riffing, plenty of blasting drums and slick leads, but for as big as the breakdowns are they are a bit tired and predictable at times. The album’s production is also a bit too polished for my liking. I’d love to hear a bit more grit in the band’s sound.
Parasite Phone
“Parasite Phone” is 53 seconds of noise and can probably be skipped in future listenings.
Dementia
“Dementia” jumps into the fray with rapid fire drumming and hefty riffing that’s got a bit of a melodic edge. Once the vocals settle in the band takes on a touch of Swedish death metal with some catchy riffs and steady drums. The vocals shift from high shrieks to low end grunts pretty smoothly, but it’s Rodriguez’s deeper delivery that has so much more impact. The layered growls during the chorus are a nice touch. The blasting drums and growls just after the three minute mark hit hard.
No Haven
This next one starts off with some serious mosh that’s got a bit of a technical vibe to it as it progresses over the opening seconds of the song. There’s plenty of chugging groove in this one that’ll lead to ample head banging. This is a pretty decent song, but gets a little stagnate about half way through. Lucky the guys shake the monotony and let loose with some massive riffs and more guttural mayhem in the latter half of the song.
Perpetual Defilement
Now this is more like it. The chaotic mayhem that starts this next one off has a bit of a Job For A Cowboy feel, but it’s still TTEOTD through and through. Lots of technical sweeps and tempo shifts fill this one with more than enough to keep your feeble brain entertained. There’s a beefy bit of riffing just after the three minute mark that ends out the song.
In Herit Obscurity
Man, the guttural gurgle that is uttered at the beginning of this next song is evil as fuck. Overall this one has a pretty decent feel with some thrash and Swedish death metal elements thrown in for good measure. Not a bad song.
The Manifest
For as brutal as some of the riffs are within “The Manifest,” the songs are starting to sound alike. I know that there are definitely differences in the mix, but there seem to be patterns that the band keeps following. That said, the vocals on this song kick some serious ass. The guitars around the 2:25 mark are pretty damned good.
Defaced Reality
“Defaced Reality” starts off with some melodic guitars and steady drums over the course of the first 40 seconds or so before the vocals and some mosh set in for a while. For a little while there it seemed like we might not see the higher end vocals which would have been a nice change of pace, but they do end up making an appearance. The lead at 2:50 is pretty darn good.
Siphonaptera From Within
Ohhh, a science word. Let’s look it up. “Siphonaptera,” I guess, is the scientific name/genus for flea. So the title of this song is “Fleas From Within.” What the fuck does that mean? At any rate, it’s a pretty good track with a few melodic hooks and a healthy dose of double kick drum throughout the song. The overall feel is a bit more frenetic than the rest of the album, which is refreshing. The densely layered vocals certainly don’t hurt the song’s cause. The massive growls and riffs around the three minute mark are a must hear.
Insomnium
“Insomnium” is a two and a half minute (and then some) instrumental that fades in from the distance, swells with a sick lead and burly riffs and then fades back into the shadows. It shows these dudes know how to play their shit and serves as a nice interlude before the title track kicks in.
Skepsis
And by “kicks in,” I mean, thoroughly kicks your teeth in. This is one of the burlier, more aggressive tracks on the album and I can see why they saved it for last. It’s essentially a culmination of every we’ve heard from this iteration of TTEOTD, but I’m not sure I’d slog through the familiar patterns of the previous songs too often in order to get to this one. Overall, the band’s shift to a more death metal influenced brand of metal is for the better, but I’d like to see a bit more variation on a track-by-track basis. Other than that, it’s a pretty decent album.
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Additional Notes:
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