Edge of Eternity – Edge of Eternity
Independent – 2011
Edge of Eternity is a symphonic metal band out of South Carolina. They have released their self-titled album recently and I’ve had the opportunity to review it. The band on the EP consists of K’Sea Kirby on vocals, Joshua Kirby on vocals, Josh Morse on keyboards, Tyler Bledsoe on guitars, Steven Wooten on drums and Steve Morse on bass. One of the things that appeals to me about this band is the fact that they have a female lead vocalist that has a very up-front voice. Her vocal style is a cross between HB’s Johanna Aaltonen (range) and Gretchen’s Mia Richards (vocal strength). Her vocals really shine on the songs “Seeing Through The Looking Glass” and “Unholy”. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The album starts off with “Procession”. The song starts off with keyboard effects painting a dreary landscape that comes up to a funeral procession with an eulogy mourning the loss of the church. The song then kicks into full gear. Lyrically the songs calls upon the church to stand up against the devil or slowly watch the church “die” as it become a house of religion instead of a House of God. The songs has some great guitar work as well as some fantastic keys/organ passages. “Seeing Through The Looking Glass” follows up and as I stated earlier, is a great song for K’Sea’s vocals. She has no troubles going from the lower ranges and then back up into the upper ranges and all while not lose any power. Josh and Tyler play some good solos on this song which calls on the church to reach out to the world and not focusing inward. “The Enemy” is a bit lighter when compared to “Seeing . . ” but it’s definitely got some good hooks in it. “Unholy” is another strong song. The keys at the begining almost seem a little off when you first listen to it but as the song progresses you start to see how they work. This is another great song for K’Sea as she unleashes her vocal prowess. Tyler does some solid guitarwork midway through the song which really lends itself well to the overall feel of the song. “Spiritual Anorexia” follows up and is the shortest song on the album (just 3:01 as opposed to most of the songs that are over 5:30 long). It’s a mid-paced rocker that is done well. Once again Tyler provides some great fretwork. To close out the album, we have “Edge of Eternity”, which starts off with a piano playing a mid-pace rhythm before things kick into high gear. Midway through the song, things slow down again with Tyler again playing some great guitar along with K’Sea’s voice and Josh’s keys. It feels like the song should go back to the faster pace but it stays mid-tempo through the end. A bit of a disappointment but considering the album as a whole, it’s not much to gripe about. One thing that I haven’t mentioned is how solid both Steve Morse (basss) and Steve Wooten (drums) are throughout the album. They provide the backbone so that the others can shine. This takes a lot of skill and they do it very well. This is a solid EP and I will definitely be looking forward to a full album from Edge of Eternity.
6 out of 7
