EIDOLON

"Eidolon" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Greek technical/progressive death/thrash metal act Acid Death. The album was released through Noisehead Records in April 2012. It´s the successor to "Random's Manifest" from 2000 and it´s a comeback album for the band, who disbanded in 2001 and didn´t reunite until 2011. Acid Death did release the "Balance of Power" EP in 2008, while they weren´t active, but it´s not an EP featuring new original material. The "Balance of Power (2008)" EP was recorded in 1992, but the label who should have released it faced financial problems and the EP was therefore not released until 2008. After reuniting in 2011, the band released a promo. There have been two lineup changes since the release of "Random's Manifest (2000)" as guitarist Nikos Andreadakis has been replaced by Kostas Karavelas and drummer Kostas Tsompanos has been replaced by Kostas Alexakis. The two remaining members from the lineup who recorded "Random's Manifest (2000)" are Savvas Betinis (bass, vocals) and Dennis Kostopoulos (guitars).

Stylistically the material on "Eidolon" are generally very different in style from the technical/progressive death/thrash metal style featured on the two albums from the band´s original run. The music is much heavier and groove laden, and the vocals are more snarling and aggressive (unfortunately also a bit one-dimensional and a bit grating on the ears for the duration of a full album). It´s still quite technical music and the album also feature progressive leanings, but the jazz/fusion influence which was pretty dominant on the early releases, aren´t a primary element of the band´s sound anymore. In many ways "Eidolon" is a more simple and direct release than its two predecessors. Simple is probably a wrong word to use about the music, as it´s still quite complex and challenging.

"Eidolon" features a heavy and powerful sounding production job, although the drums have a slightly artificial sound (especially the clicky bass drums), which make them sound a bit disjointed in the soundscape. Upon conclusion "Eidolon" isn´t exactly what I expected from Acid Death, knowing the style of music they played on the first two albums, but in some ways it´s actually an upgrade from the early releases. I enjoy the focus on heavy riffs and rhythms and the more aggressive sound of the music, but scaling back on the progressive elements of the band´s sound also means "Eidolon" isn´t quite as original sounding as the two predecessors. It´s not a huge issue though, and "Eidolon" is overall a quality release by Acid Death, and a relatively promising comeback. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)