Eken is Dead “What Lies in the Mirror” review
Eken is Dead
Eken is Dead live @ HOB Sunset
Eken is Dead live @ HOB Sunset
Chris Navarrete (vocals)
Vic Arevalo (guitar)
Gagg Green (bass)
Jack Espinoza (drums)
*review by Taylor Pesqueira
@Taylor_Sailor
Band from Los Angeles CA forming in 2007. For fans of Rise Against, Deftones, and Anthrax.
Available Now!!!
Tracklist:
1. Walk Through The Fire
2. Lights Out
3. At Any Cost
4. Inhuman Instinct
5. Deployment
6.Tour Map
7. Face Value
8. No Feelings
9. No Uncertain Terms
10. Old Crow
11. Somewhere In The Trenches
After you get past the intro track “Tour Map” is a great song to start the album off with. It has that fierce metal guitar tone along with the thrashing metal drum beats. The song is filled with tons of energy and since the song is about being on the road it fits perfect, because when you’re on the road the energy never stops. “I don’t care if I end up with nothing” is also the perfect tour mentality. This song would definitely pump me up for a show. “Tour Map” has liveliness and with out a doubt let’s you know what EID (Eken Is Dead) is all about whether you’ve heard them before or not.
“Somewhere in the Trenches” is kind of boring because it follows the generic metal song structure: metal guitar, breakdowns, and beats, and don’t forget the acoustic ending. The music isn’t terrible, it just doesn’t grab me. I could do with out this song on this album because I feel like it’s mediocre compared to the stand out tracks on What Lies In The Mirror.
I really don’t care for “Old Crow”. It is a slow dismal interlude track that doesn’t need to be on this album. It takes you back to waiting for the album to pick up and start again. After “Old Crow” the album takes a nose dive into slow paced music. What Lies In The Mirror started off all right, but then after a few songs it digresses into something that bores me. Right when I’m ready to give up onWhat Lies In The Mirror “Lights Out” starts, which is pretty strange considering i was over this album. “Lights Out” immediately breaks into those thrash metal drums everyone loves to hear; it has those hard and heavy double kick drums that drive this song into that fast paced pit that’s not stopping until this song is over. “Lights Out” is my favorite track from What Lies In The Mirror. It melts my face off and leaves me wanting more.
“Face Value” is another song that grabs me instantly with the uptempo beat and metal guitar i’m hooked. I also am more attracted to this song because Navarrete has a different way of delivering the vocals. I like the way he adds the new element of that raw as nails sound. This song is slightly different from the rest of the album in a good way and i like it. Eken Is Dead is progressing in a good way on this track and i would love to hear what else they have that is moving in this direction. “Deployment” also follows the guidelines of the the new direction Eken Is Dead is taking to enhance their new sound. I do like “Deployment” but i don’t like how it slows down about half way through the song; it’s still good, i would just like to have seen the song keep the same tempo that it started off with at the beginning.
“At Any Cost” is a great way to end the album because it’s a “kick you in the balls” song, so to speak. Every part of this song is turned up to 11. The drums are being beaten on the entire time, with powerful guitar coming through, and once Navarrete’s vocals kick in all I was left with was “damn, they’re bringing it!”, and I had that thought only listening to the album, I can’t imagine how these guys would deliver “At Any Cost” live. As soon as the song is over I have to hit repeat because I had to hear it again; such a good song with great presence.
After you get past the lull of songs that get mashed together in the middle of What Lies In The Mirror, Eken Is Dead really start to show you what they got. Even though I’d skip through a few tracks I recommend giving it a listen because there are some stand out track on What Lies In The Mirror that could make you a fan of Eken Is Dead or at least interested in how these guys carry out this intense energy in a live show.
7 out of 10 rating.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/ekenisdead?sk=info
http://twitter.com/ekenisdead
http://www.ekenisdead.com/
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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