Saturday, 22 February 2025

Red Eye - III (Album Review)

Release Date: February 28th 2025. Record Label: Discos Macarras. Formats: DD/Vinyl

III - Track Listing:

1.Ad Infinitum

2.Sagittarius A*

3.See Yourself

4.No Morning After

5.Beyond 

6.Stardust

7.Nebula 

8.The Nine Billion Names of God


Members


Pablo Terol Rosado (drums, percussion, synths, vocals).

Antonio Pérez Muriel (bass, synths).

Antonio Campos del Pino (guitar, vocals).


Review


Psych/Doom/Stoner Metallers Red Eye new album III is my first exposure to this highly talented band’s epic Spaced Out and Doomed Out domain. Their previous two albums sadly passed me by and I’m bitterly disappointed at myself for that happening. As I love the music that Red Eye has created for all three albums. Red Eye play a cosmic blend of Fuzz, Doom, Psych, Stoner and Sludge grooves that breathes new life into the heavier realms of the Psychedelic and Space Metal scene. 


III sees Red Eye traverse their way through a fuzzy and kaleidoscope of different musical styles that is influenced by SLEEP, Mars Red Sky, Electric Wizard and Black Sabbath but doing this on their own hard-hitting creative terms. The sound is constantly bleak with the conceptual themes being used within the whole album. Red Eye can be quite forthcoming with the apocalyptic sound that’s played with reckless authority which manifests into some stunning cosmic and progressive sounding landscapes.


The record excels the most when Red Eye aims for that fuzzed up and down-tuned sweet spot which allows the music to be more melodic and heavier at the same time. The vocals from Pablo Terol Rosaldo and Antonio Campos del Pino are quite different to each other with Red Eye offering clean vocals and harsh growls throughout the whole experience. 


With familiar science fiction tropes and themes being used for the lyrics, Red Eye still manage to pull of the hard task of keeping their main theme highly original especially on tracks such as Ad Infinitum, Sagittarius A* and See Yourself.


The music itself is powered by down tuned and amplifier distorted melodies which also have a certain level of trippy paranoia to them. There’s some epic mind-expanding instrumental solos which bridge the gap between reality and alternative dimensions when the inevitable fallout of the addictive Psychedelic and Spaced Out sounds start to take effect on the later stages of the record.


The second half of the album sees Red Eye adding elements of Proto Metal and Metallic energy into their music which gives III a bit more extra “SPICE” where the levels of heaviness are concerned. I can also detect a slight UFOMAMMUT influence appearing within how the story develops on tracks such as Stardust, Nebula and The Nine Billion Names Of God which are all expertly delivered by Red Eye's highly original sound.


You maybe surprised when Red Eye adds a more commercial or stadium rock aesthetic to their music but this works brilliantly well into their favour. As the music becomes more grounded but offers some beautifully epic vocal harmonies straight from the 90’s Alt Rock/Metal scene. Though, to counter balance this, Red Eye experiments further with synths, digital voices and feedback loops for a sound that becomes highly more effective when the band opts for a more sludgier backdrop to deliver their music with.


Red Eye have evolved into one of the best bands I’ve heard from the Spanish Doom/Stoner Metal scene and III only solidifies that for me. III is an album that offers one of the most visual, cinematic and mind expanding trips from the Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal underground in quite some time. If you like your music with a full on APOCALYPTIC and DESTRUCTIVE sound then Red Eye are ready to take you on a mind-expanding trip. 


WOW is all I can say to sum up the entire album.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to Red Eye and Discos Macarras for the promo.


III will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Discos Macarras from Friday 28th February 2025.