The Eye, interesting name for a band. Is it perhaps all seeing? If it offends thee would you pluck it out? Maybe, and if you still are eyes wide shut and in the dark, if I mentioned that this is a project from the past and one of just one visionary going by the name of Vindsval perhaps things are a little clearer. Following up from a demo in 1996 called ‘Normanniska’ this was the sole album from The Eye in 1997 and although standing alone, listening to this forgotten treasure now it is an incredibly interesting contrast. Of course Vindsval had already formed Blut Aus Nord by this time and the act had put out their first two albums before going on a bit of a break. I guess he decided that one project was for shelving and the other for continuing and at the time the artist was still only in his late teens so whatever way you look at the music contained here it is worth remembering this was very much the work of his formative years.
The first thing that I really focus on apart from the guitars is the synth sound of opening track ‘The Eternal Oath Of Lie.’ It has a really eerie arcane sound of sound to it, not prominent in the mix but really atmospheric. It does remind an obsessive like me of that 1000 Suns era Killing Joke and the mood matches suitably as it chills. However and much higher are the wretched vocal rasps, craggy and somewhat horrific, taking the music into a very different realm. There is an icy cold feeling of being taken on a journey to another dimension here and as the track drops into some really odd and otherworldly keyboard parts that sound straight out of early Human League or even Kraftwerk it’s like stepping into the frozen void of deep dark space. Riffs are repetitive and atmospheric and I can certainly acknowledge the comparisons the label puts on the likes of Summoning and Bathory here. These eight as they are called “unholy canticles’ do include the odd instrumental interlude and again these are keyboard orientated. ‘The Land’ is one barren, mournful passage, tinged in a funereal despair and solitude. ‘Call Of A Thousand Souls’ is as much as a musical requiem but it has harmonic croons cleanly soaring over the frigid atmosphere as well as the harsher tones, making it seem as though it is very much a tribute to the dead, as I am guessing it was perhaps intended.
The repetitive riffs and buzz-saw guitar sound should certainly be comfortable listening for anyone who grew up on a diet of early Norse black metal and even the French artist has dipped into “the cruel mythos of Odinism” here to construct an album that is full of the spirit of that age. It is only around the 40 minute mark but the journey that this takes you on is wholly engrossing after a cursory couple of first airings and is a perfect match for the weather right now (no summertime album here). It would appear that the artwork is different from that displayed on the original Velvet Musical International release and Debemur Morti who have championed BaN for some time have delivered an album that I am sure many will want to discover, myself included.
(7/10 Pete Woods)
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