Ecocide – Eye of Wicked Sight (Disharmonic Records)
Sunday, 8th June 2014
After some praise was shed on the independent release of Ecocide’s debut, Eye of Wicked Sight, Disharmonic Records has now re-released the album for those of us who missed it the first time to enjoy. Unfortunately lumped into the “old school” death metal camp, Ecocide actually play with a bit more pizzazz than your textbook death metal band and it tends to show from the onset of their album.
Strangely opening with some odd extraterrestrial sound effects, it seems to convey that this isn’t going to be a by-the-numbers death metal album. There seems to be two different entities that reside within Ecocide that play off each other nicely. The first is that of a groove-based death metal sound, much akin to something that Bolt Thrower or even Jungle Rot. Sections of groove come heavy and with excellently retainable riffs, the type that make you just want to headbang the day away. The second entity kicks in when the band speeds up from time to time. Here you can find more Slayer and Death influences (the band did actually start out as a thrash band). The changes in dynamic make things a more hospitable ride than the usual straight-up death metal albums that want nothing more than to either chug or thrash you until boredom kicks in.
It’s nothing that will make anyone want to rethink the death metal history books here, but Ecocide play their brand of death metal with plenty of flair and enthusiasm. Enjoyable from start to finish, there’s a lot of promise to be had here. They’ll either continue this same route and provide some consistently solid albums or will shed some of their more apparent influences and start to move their way up the spectrum. Seems the listeners will be the winners in either regard.
