Release
date: October 12th 2017. Label: Art as Catharsis Records. Format:
CD/DD
Ennui
- Tracklisting
1.Collapse
04:25
2.The
Effect Of A Tragedy On Its Spectators 08:35
3.Babelsteps
09:09
4.Post-Tense
10:19
5.(The
Not-I) 02:44
6.Worry
Is At The Door 07:29
7.Ennui
11:25
Members
Jesse
Hill (Bass, Vocals)
Craig
Leahy (Guitar, Vocals)
Sam
Leamy (Guitar, Vocals)
Matt
Hill (Drums)
Review
Opium
Eater's debut album Ennui is one I've been struggling to review
recently. As the album is very diverse and includes a wide range of
different musical genres. My initial thoughts were that the album is
quite complex and too clever for its own good at times. Within time
I've come to admire Opium Eater's creativity and diverse range of
sounds of the album. Drawing influence from bands such as Elder,
Mastodon, Baroness, Russian Circles and Neurosis, this album does
actually feel influenced by those amazing bands.
However
Opium Eater create their own unique sounds on songs such as:
Collapse, The Effect Of A Tragedy On It's Spectators, Babelsteps,
Post-Tense and the brilliantly heavy title track Ennui.
Opening
track Collapse is a post-rock/post-metal introduction to Opium Eater
that I feel would work better as a closing track than an opening
track. Still it gives you a brief glimpse on what to expect on the
more mellower parts of the album.
Second
track - The Effect Of A Tragedy On It's Spectators does take time for
the band to find their purpose and let rip with a heavy
Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal riff. The vocals are mighty impressive as
one of the bands 3 vocalists opts for a hardcore/post-metal sound.
The song whilst staying mostly melodic does contain heavy violent
outbursts of post-hardcore/sludge metal aggression. The progressive
rock/metal style fusion of the music allows the band to explore many
different elements of music. Psych Rock. Post-Rock and even
Alternative Rock. The clean vocals can feel out of place at times but
you soon become accustomed to Opium Eater's way of delivering their
music.
The
rest of the album follows the same path as this track though Opium
Eater does throw a few curve balls along the way. As they experiment
with their sound at different parts of the album. They could be
playing a straight forward Post-Rock/Stoner Rock riff before changing
direction altogether and playing something more primal. The album
maybe challenging and too complex at times but you can never call it
boring. As Opium Eater really do create a truly rich sound of their own.
The
lyrics are another highlight with Opium Eater writing highly
intelligent lyrics that matches superbly well with the complex
melodies. Ennui may have taken a long time for myself to truly
appreciate and to respect the band for doing something different with
the standard Progressive Sludge/Post-Metal sound.
This
is an album that you need to take your time with and it becomes a
much more rewarding and emotional experience because of this.
Excellent
and Highly Recommended.
Words
by Steve Howe
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