Release Date: March 17th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
Diviniis Requiem: Tracklisting
Diviniis Requiem
Compulsion
Silos
Tetragrammaton
Animals
Staring
Members
Matt Snyder - Vocals
Nicole Ridge - Guitars
Bruce Fowler - Bass
Joey Neves - Drums
Review
Diviniis Requiem is the debut full length album from Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metallers Eye Of Aquila. The band also play sounds that are from the 90's era of Grunge and Sludge Rock/Metal with a trippy Spaced Out groove. There's a deep love for bands such as Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, KYUSS, Black Sabbath, Mastodon and even A Perfect Circle with Eye Of Aquilia making music that's essentially of their own design and creation.
Opening song Diviniis Requiem has a harsh environment for the band to bring their dark Psychedelic sounds to the narrative and structure that the album wisely follows. There's a sense of bleak and scorched Desert Rock movements within the entire song. This allows Eye of Aquila to explore heavier and distorted areas of Doom/Stoner Metal, The grunge aspect has a certain Alice In Chains feel with the lyrics and the catchy aggressive vocals have a sense of realism to them. The music is melodic, trippy and has many different levels of WEEDIAN flavour with an AMPLIFIER delivery being applied to the later stages of the song. There's some wonderfully Prog Doom/Stoner guitar solos along the way that will instantly catch your attention.
Second song Compulsion sees Eye Of Aquiia continue their "SONIC" based mission with a thumping Rhythm Section laying down impressive heavy ideas for lead guitarist Nicole to fully expand their "WALL OF SOUND" atmosphere to greater heights with epic Psychedelic grooves that have a free flowing attitude to them. Matt impresses yet again with his Grungy inspired vocals that have a sense of optimism and adventure to them even through the more bleak aspects of the song. The album does a "Post-Whatever" and "Shoegaze" aspect that fully comes to life on this track alone. The legendary sound of the Californian Desert/Stoner Rock scene is injected with a sense of bleak nihilism with the lyrics the band have written for this track and this makes up for being my favourite track on the album.
Third song Silos opts for a more Psychedelic and Sonic based rhythm with a more Doom Metal orientated sound that has echoes of Rage Against The Machine on the early stages of the song. Matt's vocals have a more "PROTEST" feel to them but when the emotionally charged moments appear then Matt switches to a more subdued style which works brilliantly well. The rest of the band focus upon creating a "LESS IS MORE" approach that remains powerful and allows Eye Of Aquila to march on confidently with their focused Doom/Stoner Metal sound with perhaps a Sludge Metal swagger starting to appear. The second half of the song features some of the best SONIC and PSYCH grooves on the album with perhaps an extended progressive feel starting to be known.
With the groundwork laid down on the first half, Eye Of Aquila becomes bolder with the main creative lyrical themes of the album. The music is more Psychedelic and Grunge driven but still allows the band to explore the other WEEDIAN aspects of their sound.
The songs Tetragrammaton, Animals and Staring are equally as good as the first half with Tetragrammaton being another one of the standout tracks. Expect more wonderful free-flowing Psychedelic/Grungy guitars with moody Doom/Stoner Metal atmospherics bringing loud outbursts of aggressive grooves that leave you wanting more.
This album is boosted by excellent production values that helps Eye Of Aquila deliver a brilliant and thought provoking album that will surprise a lot of folks within the Underground scene especially with its use of different aggressive slabs of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal whilst still offering a more humane feeling along the way.
Diviniis Requiem is an essential release and has the hallmarks to end up becoming one of the best albums of the year.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to the band for the promo.
Diviniis Requiem will be available to buy on DD from March 17th 2023
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