Just the Beginning
From their own press you'd be forgiven for expecting some lowest-common denominator sludge metal from Arcade Eyes but it does them a disservice; their sound is a more elusive and odd beast than how it's described. Sure, there's frequent recourse to down-tuned chugging riffs and singer Stephane Azam sometimes slips into a Randy Blythe like growl too but there's also spiky electronics, shades of Tom G. Warrior's enormous guitar tone and a some lead playing reminiscent of the weirder moments of Dazed and Confused live circa '77. As I said: an odd beast.
The band is comprised of Jan Oberg of Earthship handling guitar and Andre Klein from the Smokin' 44s on drums with Crown's Stephane Azam delivering the vocals. Opening track Circles of Black Shadows instantly shifts the goalpost from Eyehategod to some sort of dark psychedelia as the band stomp metallic guitars into electronics slathered in layers of backing vocals. Tales of Greed or 'tales of greeeeeeeeeeeeed' as it sounds is built on one massive low slung guitar riff that could equally drift off into a big old groove as it could spark into a free-form freak out.
Waves of Flesh and Soundtrack for Salvation are merely off-the-shelf metal with Azam's strong yet conventional vocals making them forgettable but there is that Gojira esque monolithic groove to the guitar. Sandwiched between those efforts is a 2 & 1/2 minute hard rocker that cleanses the palette (Iron Tongue) and Into the Veil which piles on the volume before an abrupt finish.
Fragments adds a bit of Ministry style electrified stomp to the proceedings before Embrace the Fire changes the tone entirely moving beyond the heavy bluster as scuttling drums circle a ringing, tremolo'd spaghetti western guitar line as Azam takes on a Lanegan style groon to sing: "it's all over now". A whole song rendered without a single chug or a growl.
Arcade Eyes are an interesting proposition incorporating plenty of dynamics and often brighter tones in their sound than some straight up sludge/doom band. It doesn't always work together but the tools are there for them to build something exciting next time around for now though, it's fun just listening out for the quirks in this eponymous debut.