Death metal will always be my passion, and there has been some really good stuff dropping as of late (Amon, Tombthroat, Miseration, Relics of Humanity). But there does come a time where one can get death-metalled out so to say, and a break can sometimes be in order. That prompted me to grab the second full length by Vancouver thrash quartet Titan’s Eve as a change of pace, and it turned out to be a very good choice.

Following a short opener, the first riff off of the second track, “Destined to Die”, I swear I had heard on Slayer’s World Painted Blood. Then the gruff shouted vocals kick-in, and Machine Head instantly came to mind as Brian Gamblin is almost a dead ringer for Robb Flynn. And a few minutes after that, you get some Shadows Fall style atmospheric clean vocals. You even have some Kreator sprinkled throughout, which about sums up this album: it’s a mixture of genres all blended up into one tasty little metal smoothie.

Despite being an eclectic mix, this album is firmly rooted in modern thrash with a hefty dose of groove. The pace varies, but never reaches into full death metal speeds. In addition to the lead vocals, Brian Gamblin and his brother Kyle handle the guitars, and there is some serious shredding going on here. Most tracks feature one or two solid solos, with a few standouts being the one halfway through the title track, and the opener to “Hollow Gods”. Casey Ory handles the percussion work, with pounding double bass and some creative fills adding to the fretwork going on.

Faults with this album are the way too long acoustic guitar instrumental, “A Wound That Never Heals”, that really helps to kill the momentum the band had built up during the first half of the album (when are bands ever going to realize these instrumentals almost NEVER add to the enjoyment of an album?). Also some of the lyrics, while well thought out overall, creep into hardcore territory and flirt dangerously with being cheesy (“Divided We Fall”). Those two minor gripes aside, there’s a lot to like with this one and should definitely be checked out by any metal fan as there’s something for everyone here. It’s been a very competitive year, but this one just might sneak its way onto my year end list. Hopefully these guys don’t remain unsigned for long.

[Visit the band's website]

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