Eye of Solitude: Sui Caedere

I stumbled on this band totally by chance. I was looking for funeral doom metal with vocalists that provide some of the most inhuman low growls you could ever hear: vocals in the style of AHAB, Evoken, Ataraxie, Worship, Tyranny, and so on. However, I was recommended to check out the UK band Eye of Solitude with a note of caution: they play melodic doom-death, not funeral doom, but the singer is awesome.

I ordered Sui Caedere (Latin for "suicide") and was impressed tremendously with Romanian vocalist Daniel Neagoe. He delivers some of the most tortured, deeply pain-ridden growls you could ask for. Obviously he's also been involved in many other bands like Tiarra, My Shadow, and Unfathomable Ruination, though I'm not familiar with any of them. The vocals on this disc are easily the standout element: often times, the music will come to a halt, adding lush keyboard textures, distant acoustic guitars, and tense silences to the mix, and then Neagoe's vocals emerge out of nowhere, erupting into chaos and sorrow at the same time. The synth tones rise and completely wrap his voice while the guitars churn out intensely melodic themes.

Think the first Paradise Lost album in terms of riffing and Amorphis' Tales from the Thousand Lakes in terms of melody construction. However, the melodies are more 'modern' sounding and, therefore, could also be likened to another Finnish band, Swallow the Sun circa Hope. Other reference points might by Saturnus, Daylight Dies' more melodic moments, Soulfallen's icy acoustic guitar playing as well as My Dying Bride's earliest (and best) doom-death period. The second track is actually the best tune to represent their sound. It starts off with very low-tuned guitars, static drumming before a melodic guitar theme develops slowly until it takes over. The vocals are insane. At some point, everything slows down to the point of total silence, and then the vocals roll into the mix unexpectedly. This is the epitome of melodic doom-death. The all-too-sudden growl suggests suppressed feelings of grief, distress, and regret breaking free. Neagoe cries "There's no one here, there's nothing to fear," and raises the hairs on your neck! The drums then pick up tempo a la My Dying Bride and add nuance and texture. It only becomes heavier and more suffocating before fading into white noise. "The Haunting" is their most haunting song indeed.

Another standout track has got to be the album opener "Awoken by Crows" with its Blackwater Park-like thick guitar chords and epic sound coupled with some of the deepest growls you can imagine. Unfortunately, the rest of the album falls short: the songs begin to sound samey (despite the amazing vocals) and when they do try to spice things up with the 13-minute epic "Those Who Don't Return," the main guitar theme sounds too polished to establish the necessary atmosphere, and frankly, the song is too keyboard-heavy for my tastes. I love my doom best when it is slow (*very* slow) and contains super heavy riffs supplied by guitars where keyboards are pretty much nonexistent or just there as a texture. From there, the drums are allowed to speed the song up and slow it back down, throw in unexpected fills or cymbal splashes, or cut out entirely, only to return later on.

I've never heard Eye of Solitude's first album but would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys melodic doom metal with some of the best death vocals in the genre.

Track Listing

1. Awoken by Crows
2. The Haunting
3. Strigoi 04:38
4. A Note to Say Farewell
5. Depths of a Sick Mind
6. Those Who Don't Return
7. Performed in Graphic Pain
8. Totem of a Pagan Thought
9. Yet I Breathe
10. Departure

Added: September 10th 2012
Reviewer: Murat Batmaz
Score:
Related Link: Eye of Solitude @ Facebook
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Language: english

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