A little background... This band started as a solo project in Akron, Ohio but ended up being something much bigger. Now with 6 members, Instrumental Progressive Metal band Wide Eyes just put out their debut exclusively on Bandcamp August 21st for streaming and download (You get to name your own price. That's a deal and a half). Adam "Nolly" Getgood of Periphery/Red Seas Fire mastered "Volume" and did a good job of it.
This band first caught my attention awhile back when they released a
pre-production demo for "The Galveston Key". The varied songwriting was
great and everything flowed nicely. That first impression would be a
good way to sum up this album. Just very well done. The album opener and
standout track "Inception" also really gives you an idea of what to
expect. It caught me off guard at first with sparkly upbeat electronics
only to smash me with heaviness and smooth me out with melody before
chopping with jagged edged technical riffs. Other stand out tracks are
"Marahute", "Genie", "Revival" "Chronicles of Zuo", "New Order of the
Ages" and the 10 minute epic "Demarcation" among a large number of
others. The two songs made available by the band on youtube can be found
above and below. A full album stream is available here. I found only a handful of moments on "Volume" to be a tad stale. For example,
"Eskalofrio" is fundamentally a good song but I feel like I've heard it all
before. This band has an influence from/similarity to groups such as
Volumes, Periphery, and maybe a bit of Animals as Leaders and I, The Breather. But
similarities aside, they definitely have a driving force of their own.
Gems of genius and originality can be found throughout the experience.
These guys are prolific as hell. They have already been working on a new EP and a second album. That being said, I think everyone should give Wide Eyes a round of applause for the effort. It would be really cool to see Wide Eyes take on a vocalist, but honestly they can do whatever they want. But in the mean time you should definitely get yourself to Bandcamp and give these dudes a download or some monies.
