Powerful In-Your-Face stuff.
Hardcore bands seem to be absolutely everywhere at the moment. With that in mind it needs to take something special for one of them to stand out. Black Dogs have done this with their album Grief and now Eidola are set to cause waves with the release of Ends Of The Spectrum. This powerful little EP is laden with heavy hitters as riffs, aggression and strong technical ability marry together once again for a solid hardcore release.
Opening track A Painting In Every Room absolutely goes off as an explosion of noise introduces us to what this band are all about. This isn't one of those hardcore bands who follow a strict formula of hitting listeners with random, sometimes pointless, breakdowns which do nothing for the song itself. As this track progresses, as much as it is predominantly 'hardcore', this can also be attributed as generally a great metal track. There is definitely an element of thrash tucked in somewhere here, and being from the Bay Area it's probably just something in their genetics. They're a band that sound like they're trying to make a mark in the right way. Image isn't important, it's the combination of drawing together different influences to produce four absolutely blinding hardcore/metal tracks which is.
Vocal wise, it doesn't sound too harsh so it won't be totally inaccessible for some listeners. They're also not something that totally overpowers the music, instead complimenting it. It feels like it is really part of the music rather than random screaming and shouting over it, which is not something that can be said about every hardcore band.
As the EP progresses, In The Quiet and Standing Water continue the aggression and pace of the opening track with the guitar work on the latter particularly good as small melodies and huge chunky riffs feel like they pull you close before punching your square on the jaw. It can almost be guaranteed that for this track in particular, at live shows no one will be able to stand still. Fourth track Removed showcases the powerhouse of a drummer, who throughout has been the pulsing heartbeat of this band. Whilst not spectacular, it's the drummer's tightness behind the kit which helps make this all work. The lyrics on this track are also particularly dark, focussing on the struggle an addict lives through in modern society.
Overall this is a really solid EP, Eidola will certainly be a band RoomThirteen keeps its eye on in the future.